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The chapters in this book representing Russia, Poland, Estonia, Romania, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Slovenia provide good examples of the development of political executives and their support services in the Central and Eastern European countries. The studies illustrate the interplay of politico-administrative roles over time and provide an insight into the impact of structural differences and diverse administrative traditions. There are also interesting comparative examples from Western Europe, namely Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Sweden, that illuminate both the similarities and differences of the efforts of executives to enhance their own capacity as a result of changing environments. The majority of the studies presented in this book examine attempts on the part of chief executives to enhance their ability to contribute effectively to the governance of their societies. These efforts involve not only strengthening the capacity for political powers and political enforcement through support structures and new coordination procedures, but also the policy analytic capacity of these offices. These studies also demonstrate the barriers that chief executives, even those in seemingly powerful positions, encounter when attempting to govern from the centre. They further point to the thin line that can exist between the professionalization of policy in these offices, and its politicization. These studies therefore are useful both to students of governing, and practitioners of that art, as they struggle to find ways of making governments both be effective and respond democratically to the demands of the public.

Table ofContents

Introduction

Governing from the Centre: Presidents and Prime Ministers

B. Guy Peters .................................................................................................................... 7

SectionI

Prime Minister’sOffices

Variables of Balance Versus Bias of Politico-Administrative Roles at the Core Executive

Georg Sootla ................................................................................................................... 19

Politico-Administrative Relations in the Policy-Making Process: The Adoption of the Estonian Government of the Republic Act 1992 – 1995

By Moonika Olju and Jako Salla.................................................................................. 24

Evolution of the (In)Formal Roles of the Prime Minister’s Office and the General Secretariat of the Government in Slovenia

Alenka Krašovec ............................................................................................................ 36

Political Roles of the Estonian Prime Minister’s Office: Context, Practices and Consequences

GeorgSootla,Ott Lumi ................................................................................................. 60

Evolution of Politico-Administrative Roles of Prime Ministerial Support Structures in Poland 1989 – 2007

Tatiana Majcherkiewicz................................................................................................ 85

SectionII

PresidentialOffices

Reflections on Presidency and Executive Governance

Oleh Protsyk ................................................................................................................. 111

The Presidency and the Political Roles of Cabinets in the Western CIS Countries

Oleh Protsyk ................................................................................................................. 113

Administration of the President in Russia: Institutional Capacities for Politics 1991 – 2007

Leonid Smorgunov ...................................................................................................... 129

‘Administering the Summit’: The Case of Kazakhstan

Dinazat Kassymova and Colin Knox ........................................................................ 146

SectionIII

Advisors and Political CivilServants

Staffing the ‘Summit’ – Evidence from East and West on the Role of Personal Advisors and Senior Civil Servants

Bernadette Connaughton ........................................................................................... 163

An Institutional Perspective on Personal Advisors in Belgium: Political Actors and a Failure to Change an Institution During a Critical Juncture

Christophe Pelgrims, Marleen Brans and Ellen Wayenberg .................................... 180

Ministerial Advisors in Estonia: Role Perceptions as Multi-Functionalism

Maria Keris .................................................................................................................. 206

Civil Servants at the ‘Summit’ – a Comparison Between the Nordic Countries

Markku Temmes .......................................................................................................... 225

Changing Relationships at the Summit? Analysing the Role and Institutionalisation of Special Advisors in Ireland

Bernadette Connaughton ........................................................................................... 244

Between the Pool of Spoils And Shallow Professionalism: Recruitment, Composition and Functioning of the Political Cabinets of Prime Ministers and Ministers in Poland 1997 – 2006

Tatiana Majcherkiewicz.............................................................................................. 268

Special Advisors to the Minister in Romania: Carriers of Political and Administrative Roles

Bianca Cobârzan......................................................................................................... 293

Conclusions

Bernadette Connaughton and Georg Sootla ............................................................. 312

Index ............................................................................................................................ 318

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