Europeanization, Domestic Legacies and Administrative Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Hungary and the Czech Republic

Camyar, Isa

doi:10.1080/07036330903274664

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…These various classifications emphasize two main features of the Bulgarian public sector -its Ottoman legacy that translates into inefficiency and a high level of corruption, and its communist legacy that translates into highly centralized system, strong control of the former nomenklatura, and a great degree of politicization (Zankina, 2018, p. 82). These administrative traditions and legacies played an important role in shaping public administration reform (Camyar, 2010;Meyer-Sahling and Yesilkagit, 2011;Meyer-Sahling, 2009), as new systems were influenced by the Soviet system (Meyer-Sahling and Yesilkagit, 2011;Baker, 2002).…”

Section: Overview Of Early Reform Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite significant differences, CEE countries all shared a common past under Communism, including Soviet-style administrative systems: highly centralized, with no clear separation between the party and the state apparatus, and with selection for management positions based on a nomenklatura system, which stressed ideological and political loyalty rather than merit (Meyer-Sahling and Veen, 2012). These common administrative traditions and legacies played an important role in shaping civil service reform in CEE (Camyar, 2010;Meyer-Sahling and Yesilkagit, 2011;Meyer-Sahling, 2009), because civil service systems were, in most cases, not created from a clean slate. Rather, they reflected an evolving baggage of norms and beliefs carried from the past that framed and guided future actions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public Administration Reform in Bulgaria: Top-down and Externally-driven Approach

Zankina

2020

CEPAR

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The article examines public administration reform (PAR) in Bulgaria and the main factors that shaped the reform agenda and dynamics. PAR is examined along five key dimensions – transparency and accountability, civil service and human resources management (HRM), public service delivery and digitalisation, organisation and management of government, and policy-making coordination and implementation. The article argues that there are four main factors influencing reform dynamics and determining policy outcomes in the Bulgarian case: the specific political choices made by government elites, external influence of the EU and of past national legacies, and the importance of institutions and reform mechanisms. To illustrate these factors at work, the article examines three policy initiatives, i.e. e-government, the reduction of administrative burden, and civil service reform. The article presents a longitudinal analysis and a qualitative case-study approach, utilising Annual Reports on the Status of the Public Administration 2001–2018, mapping European Semester Documents 2011–2017, an inventory of PAR initiatives 2005–2018, and interviews of public officials. The pushes for reform have been top-down, externally-driven, and stop-and-go in nature. The results confirm previous findings that Bulgaria is among the EU countries with the poorest record in PAR, struggling to overcome communist legacies and high levels of corruption and politicisation. The Bulgarian case highlights several important lessons: the importance of political will and political dynamics for the outcome of reform efforts; the importance of external pressure and financing; the difficulty of uprooting long-standing legacies in administrative traditions; and the limitations of the top-down approach as an obstacle to the sustainability of reform efforts.

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Section: Overview Of Early Reform Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Administration Reform in Bulgaria: Top-down and Externally-driven Approach

Zankina

2020

CEPAR

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“…Drawing on a survey of municipal health‐care officials in Serbia, the article contributes to our understanding the impact of domestic variables and ‘legacies of deep conditions’ (Cirtautas and Schimmelfennig, ; Elbasani, ). In contrast to existing studies on the Europeanization of public administration in post‐communist settings, which typically assess the impact of conditionality at state and country level (Caymar, ; Dimitrova, ), we focus on municipal officials and ask whether exposure to EU processes and training is transforming attitudes to corruption among health‐care professionals at the local level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transformation All the Way Down? European Union Integration and the Professional Socialization of Municipal Health Officials in Serbia

Fagan

Sircar

2019

J of Common Market Studies

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This article assesses whether different types of exposure to European Union (EU) modes of socialization are associated with differences in attitudes towards corruption, using Serbia as case study. Drawing on a survey of Serbian municipal health-care officials, the article complements existing research on the impact of EU conditionality on attitudes at the national level, while also contributing to the understanding of the impact of domestic variables on Europeanization. Thus, the article's contribution to the wider literature is to interrogate the premise that in order to deliver substantive reform, attitudes and practices need to be changed via exposure to EU tutelage and processes. Our data suggest that the type of interaction that officials have with the EU and its processes matters. While those involved in EU harmonization activities were significantly more critical of clientelistic behaviour, there is no significant association between attitudes and doing daily EU-related work or attending EU training.

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“…What is the impact of the European Union (EU) on the professionalization of public administration in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs)? Research on the Europeanization of public administration in post-communist CEECs has long focused on the impact of EU conditionality (Camyar, 2010; Dimitrova, 2005). The development of administrative capacity was one of the conditions for EU membership (Dimitrova, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silent professionalization: EU integration and the professional socialization of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe

Meyer‐Sahling

Lowe

Stolk

2015

European Union Politics

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This paper applies theories of international socialization to examine the impact of European Union contact on the professional socialization of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe. Based on a survey of officials in seven new member states, the paper finds that daily work on European Union issues is associated with favourable attitudes towards merit-based civil service governance. The distinction between types of European Union contact shows that officials dealing with ‘reception’-related European Union activities such as the transposition and implementation of European Union policies develop more meritocratic attitudes. By contrast, ‘projection’-related activities that involve personal contact with European Union officials have no effect. The paper concludes that the small but consistent impact of European Union contact on professional socialization promotes the silent professionalization of public administration in Central and Eastern Europe.

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Europeanization, Domestic Legacies and Administrative Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Hungary and the Czech Republic

Cited by 12 publications

References 25 publications

Public Administration Reform in Bulgaria: Top-down and Externally-driven Approach

Public Administration Reform in Bulgaria: Top-down and Externally-driven Approach

Transformation All the Way Down? European Union Integration and the Professional Socialization of Municipal Health Officials in Serbia

Silent professionalization: EU integration and the professional socialization of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe

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