This panel explores the state of public administration in post-communist countries. All of the presenters are chapter authors for the forthcoming book: Public Administration in Post-Communist Countries: Former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe, and Mongolia (CRC Press, 2012).

Papers:

Saulius Pivoras, Public Administration Department, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
It is common to associate administrative culture of post-communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe with the "Soviet” administrative tradition. Lithuanian administrative culture can be associated with a mix or diffusion of three different historical layers: the heritage of independent statehood from the interwar period (1918 – 1940), the Soviet legacy and the constructed or imagined European administrative tradition. All three layers possess one unifying—if even variously understood and functionally diverse—feature: the legal dimension of public administration. The civil service system during the interwar period of Lithuania’s independent statehood did not come to be fully institutionalized; in fact, it was very underdeveloped and latent. This paper will focus on the administrative development of Lithuania as a post-communist country.

Public sector reforms in Kazakhstan
Aigerim R. Ibrayeva, College of Social Sciences, Department of Public Administration, Kazakhstan University of Management, Economics, and Research
Tamara Nezhina,Chicago, IL
The disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (hereafter referred to as the Soviet Union) in 1991 marked the beginning of new era for Kazakhstan. From the communist past, Kazakhstan has emerged as an independent pro-market and pro-democracy state. In the West, political elites and academics expected that democracy, market, and civil society would quickly take root in the newly independent state. Yet, in the case of Kazakhstan, democracy has been developing in a zigzag fashion. The First President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has initiated democratic reforms from the top-down; and the President himself has curtailed democratic development by concentrating power within the institution of presidency. The case of Kazakhstan is an illustration of the central role of government in transforming economic, political, and social order with little input from the people, and often against the will of the people.

Public administration reform in Poland
Jacek Czaputowicz, National School of Public Administration,Warsaw, Poland
Marcin Sakowicz, Department of Public Administration, Warsaw School of Economics, Poland

The fall of the communist system in 1989 left a situation in which Poland had no administrative structure suitable for a democratic state. The last two decades have brought a transformation that includes development of a new state system founded upon democratic principles, personal liberty, the rule of law and the right to self-govern through the decentralization of power. The preparation of public administration for membership of the European Union has played an important role. The system of civil service with the position of Head of Civil Service has been established. Principles of political neutrality, transparency and accountability have been crucial for the proper functioning Polish public administration.

Top Ukrainian public management: Top-down or bottom-up reform?
Stephen E. Condrey, President-Elect, ASPA
Svitlana Slava, Uzhgorod National University, Ukraine
R. Paul Battaglio, University of Texas at Dallas, USA
Mykola Palinchak, Dean, Uzhgorod National University, Ukraine
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, transition economies across Central and Eastern Europe began the arduous task of economic and political reform. The reforms underway have not only transformed state functions, but have also transferred the relationship of the state to its citizens. The authors contend that constitutional reform, lending greater authority to sub-national units of government, coupled with a professional civil service corps will lead to grass roots reform and ultimate modernization of Ukrainian public management. The emerging nation-state was doubly tasked with not only reforming government institutions for democracy but also their capacity for a modern market economy. Institutional reform is indispensable for both public management and economic progress.