Skip to main content

What Kind of Civil Service? Trends in Public Administration Reform in Eastern Europe

  • Chapter
The NEBI Yearbook 2003

Abstract

Transition economies find themselves in the curious situation of having too much and too little bureaucracy at the same time. On one hand they have inherited the legacy of the enormous patronage-based bureaucratic apparatus of their communist past. On the other hand there is an acute shortage of bureaucracy in its original positive meaning: a modern civil service, which is professional, independent of political parties, transparent, impartial, responsible and accountable for design and implementation of state policy. Whereas governments may change frequently, career civil servants remain, accumulate experience and skills, and guarantee continuity of the state. To establish such effective and responsible civil service is one of the main tasks of public administration reform.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Verheijen, T. (ed.) (1999). Civil Service Systems in Central and Eastern Europe. Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verheijen, T. and Coombes, D. (eds) (1998). Innovations in Public Management. Edward Elgar. NISPAcee & EPAN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juraj, N. and Verheijen, T. (eds) (2000). Building Higher Education Programmes in Public Administration in CEE Countries.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hesse, J.J. (ed.) (1993). Administrative Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimball, J.D. (ed.) (1999). The Transfer of Power Decentralization in Central and Eastern Europe. The Law on Civil Service of 18 December, 1998. Republic of Poland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Civil Service in Poland. Office of Civil Service, Warsaw, May 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekke, H.A.G.M., Perry, J. and Toonen, T.A.J. eds. (1996). Civil Service Systems in ComparativePerspective. Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beetham, D. (1996). Bureaucracy. University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feher, E, Heller, A. and Gyorgy Markus, G. Dictatorship over Needs: An Analysis of Soviet Societies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J.Q. (1989). Bureaucracy. What government agencies do and why they do it. Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

King, V. (2003). What Kind of Civil Service? Trends in Public Administration Reform in Eastern Europe. In: Hedegaard, L., Lindström, B., Joenniemi, P., Eskelinen, H., Peschel, K., Stålvant, CE. (eds) The NEBI Yearbook 2003. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59341-3_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59341-3_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63940-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59341-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics