Visualizing Change in Administrative Law

Although few realize it, the structure of administrative law has not changed much in two decades. Unlike past eras of upheaval, the key statutes, institutions, and judicial doctrines that defined administrative law in the early 1990s remain remarkably intact today. Administrative law's complexity, however, makes it difficult to see the big picture. This Article addresses that complexity by introducing a new visual framework.

This framework has two principal benefits. First, it illustrates how administrative law's many parts fit together and shows that the field has been in a holding pattern for a long time. Second, it also allows scholars to better predict future regulatory evolution. Indeed, by applying this new framework, it appears that at least three dynamics may change today's administrative law: Partisan Escalation, Regulatory Competence, and New Protectionism.