In this study the identity crisis, which started to be discussed as a result of the problems encountered in determining the boundaries of public administration, is discussed. In the study, the identity crisis is investigated in depth through comparative, historical and descriptive analysis method within the framework of different ideas. Discussions on what public administration is or is not have been analyzed and evaluated.

With the introduction of public administration as a separate academic discipline, there have been many debates and studies on the politics-administration dichotomy. Although Woodrow Wilson's article titled The Study of Administration (1887) is considered as the basis of the dichotomy according to some researchers, the basis of the dichotomy goes back to Cameralism. According to another point of view, the basis of the political-administrative dichotomy is attributed to Montesquieu with the Separation of Powers. When the basis of the distinction made on the basis of the Separation of Powers is analyzed, the basis of the dichotomy can be traced back to Aristotle. However, it would be a forced inference to evaluate these studies within the framework of politics-administration dichotomy and identity crisis. Instead of seeing and showing the studies that can be expressed as the search for the best ways to govern the state as the basis for the politics- administration dichotomy, it is necessary to justify the dichotomy and identity crisis by addressing the relations, boundaries and distinctions between the disciplines. In this context, it can be stated that the studies that can be seen as the cornerstone of the politics- administration dichotomy and identity crisis, contrary to the general acceptance (1887 Wilson), started with Cameralism and should be based on Cameralism.

In Prussia, where administration began to be treated as a separate discipline and chairs were established in universities, the study of the Cameral System long predates Wilson's article. As Rutgers (1998: 554) puts it, although the first writings on Cameralism date back to the mid-17th century, a specific academic discourse on government emerged in the early 18th century. In this study, Cameralism as the basis of the politics- administration dichotomy and identity crisis is discussed and evaluated in this context. It is noteworthy that some studies on this subject were conducted in France before Wilson's article under the influence of Cameralism. As a result of the studies that started to be carried out in the USA with Wilson's article, the dichotomy between politics and administration became widespread. In this context, Goodnow, Simon and Waldo's studies on dichotomy and identity crisis after Wilson's article are important.