Abstract
This introduction offers a conceptual framework for analyzing stress within public administration from a historical perspective. It argues for a broad and social constructivist understanding of stress, attentive to historical contexts. While stress is often associated with modern Western societies, the contribution argues for a wider geographical and temporal frame. Key elements of such a broader definition of stress include a substantial workload that requires higher than usual effort of individuals or organizations, creates pressure and is articulated as such. The contribution considers various analytical perspectives and considers closely related concepts such as ›crisis‹ and ›turbulence‹ and outlines the analytical value of the concept of ›stress‹: It has the potential to integrate macro-(crisis), meso-(turbulence) and micro-levels of analysis as societal discourses, organizational structures as well as practices and individual perceptions shape historical phenomena of stress.
The contribution suggests sharpening the analysis of stress by distinguishing between the following dimensions: individual and organizational stress; subjective perceptions and objective indicators of an increased workload; external and internal stressors; ›strong‹ and ›weak‹ forms of statehood.