Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 20th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview General Session Author(s) Polya Katsamunska University of National and World Economy Sofia Bulgaria Title Public administration development in Bulgaria for the last two decades File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Polya Katsamunska Abstract The past two decades have been significant ones for both the study and the practice of public administration in Bulgaria. This paper is about the public administration development and it addresses the major problems in reforming public administration. During the long transitional period in Bulgaria, which is still not over, the reform process has been accompanied by the dramatic changes in social, political and economic areas. The basic questions underlying the paper are why it is so difficult to reform and modernize public administration in transition and what lessons we have learnt from the Bulgarian experience and how to proceed. We search for the answer to these questions in both the theory and practice of public administration in Bulgaria. The research is focused on assessment of public administration progress and the main trajectory of development in the future. The in-depth analysis is based on the following methods of research: a) Analysis of the legislation and strategic documents that are related with the development of public administration. b) Extensive review of different sources of information (available for public use) revealing the structure, functions and activity of public administration. c) Survey of the effectiveness of the administrative activity, supported by personal observations and discussions with public officials from central administration in Bulgaria. The paper analysis is structured into two parts. In the first part we present the results achieved for the last two decades and the main conclusion is that the period has not been enough to reform public administration according to the European principles and standards of good governance. Serious efforts and important achievement have been made, but the progress made has been slower and more limited than expected. Bulgaria still faces problems in governance and the main reasons and obstacles are discussed. In the second part, we identify some of the key problems and most challenging areas in the development of public administration. A special attention is paid to the rule of law and the fight against corruption and organized crimes, because they make Bulgaria not able to reap the full benefits of the EU assistance. In this connection, the paper points out measures and actions needed to find working solutions and to overcome the shortcomings. They outline the main trajectory of public administration development in Bulgaria in the future. Finally, the paper shows the key role of government in this process. First, the political leaders are the driving forces of the reforms and the future of public administration development is connected with the government commitment to accelerate reforms. Second, responsibility for reforming public administration is currently transferred directly to the government and it needs to demonstrate a common political approach and a clear political will to succeed in its efforts.
