Administrative Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe Towards Public Sector Reform in Post-Communist Societies

This text examines a crucial category of the ongoing transformation process in Central and Eastern Europe: the task of reforming the public sector and, especially, public administration. A group of academics and practitioners, most of whom have taken an active part in reform processes, examine the challenges of transforming a state socialist administration into democratically accountable and responsive government.;Under the double pressure of democratization and marketization, all post-communist countries are encountering significant problems in changing the institutional bases of their societies. Against this background, the book includes an analysis of the most important changes in the political frameworks of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary since mid-1989, before turning to constitutional developments, the dynamics of economic transformation and societal change. The need for administrative adaption engendered by the intertwined processes of democratization, privatization, marketization and de-statization is outlined in detail. The contributors also survey institutional reaction, especially the steps being taken to modernize the central machinery of government, to overcome the uncertain future of the intermediate government level and local government.