Moodle.UP

The course is analysing the transformation and Europeanization of the Public Administration in the Central Eastern European Countries since 1990, including the following EU Member States: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia. It includes the theoretical impact of New Public Management concepts and the New Weberian State approach. In the sessions we will discussing the following themes: the Role of the Core Executive and Cabinets as well as of Ministries and Agencies in the Policy Process, Public administration reforms, especially in the Civil service and anti-corruption strategies.

The goal of this seminar is to allow thinking about public administration beyond existing boundaries and to meet future challenges. Discussing public administration in historical context – from Wilson and Weber to New Public Management – or in theoretical debates, may cloud our vision into the future and the role of government in future societies.

In the first part, we try to approach the ideas and underlying understanding of public administration as such, continuing with the debate on utopias and dystopias of public administration. What could be an ideal future public administration, and which would be the horrifying version of it? The first part concludes with an excursion to the world of Science Fiction and its view on public administration. In the second part, we introduce the method of thought experiments with the intention to prepare in small groups strategies for public administration to cope with future scenarios.