Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 26th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview III. PA Reform Author(s) Bianca Radu Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca Romania Radu Liviu, Title Relation between Politicians and Bureaucrats: The Case of Romania File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Abstract The politico-administrative relations are in the Western democracies one of the most important topic in public administration study and practice. Briefly, at stake is the democratic character of the state. Should the will of the politicians, based on the votes of the citizens, or the technical expertise of the professional bureaucrats, prevail in decision making processes? In the late XIX century and early XX century a number of scholars (Max Weber, Woodrow Wilson) supported the dichotomy paradigm (the separation between the political and administrative spheres). Nowadays, most of the specialists agree that this is an impossible task and rather we should discuss about a common politico-administrative domain. During the XIX century, many of the Western countries, currently modern democracies, implemented the merit system in their public administrations. This was the basis for the professionalization of their administrative systems, but also meant a division between the political power representing a certain majority of the population and the power of the state comprising those general rules, universally and equally applicable to all the citizens. The professional bureaucracy became the guardian of these general rules. This means, for modern democratic societies, that the political commands can only be put in practice inside of these general rules and with the strict observance of them. Thus, the state became an instrument of the general public interest. For historical reason, including the effect of the communist regime, the countries from Central and Eastern Europe complete the travel on this road only to certain extent, different from country to country. The aim of the paper is to prove, based on the experience of Wester states, that a professional and politically neutral bureaucracy is a necessary prerequisite for a modern democracy and that it’s relation with the political leadership should be based on clear rules and on cooperation. Also, a number of solution for the achievement of this goal will be presented in the paper.
