What lies beneath government

How a tiny island capital is reimagining the bureaucratic state. Buka Town in Bougainville shows how bureaucratic states could be reimagined, not as concrete buildings but as living gardens. Gordon Peake and Miranda Forsyth reflect on the future of political science if bureaucracies were seen as ‘complex ecosystems rather than structures’. Here, they argue that if strong bonds are formed between those who carry out the work of public administration, governing bodies can be powerful forces for good.