The New Public Service (NPS) is a paradigm in public administration that emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a response and critique to the dominant New Public Management (NPM) model. While NPM emphasized efficiency, market mechanisms, and treating citizens as 'customers,' NPS fundamentally re-centers public administration theory and practice around the core values of democracy and citizenship.

Key Tenets of NPS and its Emphasis on Democracy and Citizenship:

1. Serving Citizens, Not Customers: NPS rejects the 'customer' metaphor, arguing that citizens are not merely consumers of public services but active participants in a democratic polity. Public administrators are seen as stewards of the public interest, facilitating collective action and dialogue, rather than just service providers responding to individual demands. This emphasizes the rights and responsibilities inherent in citizenship.

2. Democracy as the Foundation: NPS posits that the primary role of public administration is to help citizens articulate and realize the public interest. This involves fostering democratic governance, promoting civic engagement, and ensuring that public policies are legitimate and responsive to the will of the people. It moves beyond a narrow focus on managerial efficiency to embrace broader democratic values.

3. Public Interest as the Guiding Principle: Unlike NPM's focus on individual preferences or market efficiency, NPS emphasizes the pursuit of a collectively defined public interest. Public administrators are tasked with facilitating public discourse to identify and advance shared values and goals, recognizing that the public interest is often contested and requires ongoing deliberation.

4. Citizen Participation and Engagement: NPS advocates for active citizen involvement in all stages of policy-making and service delivery – from agenda setting and formulation to implementation and evaluation. This includes mechanisms like deliberative forums, participatory budgeting, and co-production of services, empowering citizens as co-creators of public value.

5. Public Servants as Facilitators and Mediators: The role of the public administrator shifts from a hierarchical manager or a market-oriented entrepreneur to a facilitator, mediator, and advocate for the public interest. They are expected to build relationships, foster collaboration, and help diverse stakeholders find common ground, embodying the democratic spirit in their daily work.

6. Accountability to Citizens and Law: While NPM focused on accountability to performance targets and market outcomes, NPS emphasizes accountability to citizens, the constitution, and the rule of law. It stresses ethical conduct, transparency, and responsiveness to public needs as defined through democratic processes.

7. Valuing People, Not Just Productivity: NPS recognizes that public organizations are fundamentally about people – both those who work within them and those they serve. It promotes a humanistic approach that values employee empowerment, diversity, and the development of a public service ethos rooted in democratic ideals.

In essence, NPS seeks to restore the normative and democratic foundations of public administration. It argues that effective public administration is not just about 'doing things right' (efficiency) but about 'doing the right things' (democracy and public interest). By placing democracy and citizenship at its core, NPS provides a framework for public administration that is more inclusive, responsive, and legitimate, aiming to strengthen the relationship between government and its citizens in a complex and diverse society.