Interplay Between the Tiers in Croatian Local Government: Who Is Winning the Interdependence Game

The paper examines, analyses, and evaluates the relations between the first and second tiers of the Croatian local government system and their longitudinal and cross-sectoral dynamics. Membership in the European Union has opened new relevant horizons for national territorial governance, primarily through the advocacy of multi-level cooperative governance arrangements and by providing opportunities for the acquisition of additional resources through European structural and investment funds. These issues are evaluated by analysing formal competence distribution between the tiers, by analysing the distribution of resources between tiers and through their cooperation in regional policy domain and service delivery. Furthermore, actors’ perceptions of their mutual relations are examined via the author’s own research and the research of other scholars. After the introductory chapter, the second chapter presents a theoretical framework and context for an analysis of vertical relations within the local government system; the third chapter provides a longitudinal overview of the main features and conceptual developments of the Croatian local government system. The fourth chapter is the central part of the paper that presents and analyses the available primary and secondary data. Preliminary findings suggest several conclusions: a) areas of contact between municipal and county levels have increased resulting in their more intensive interdependence; b) relations between the levels have been differentiating and cannot be considered uniform: different kinds of relations have developed between counties and small municipalities and between counties and large towns; c) centralistic governance of the whole system stimulates the development of competition between the tiers, which endangers their collective and cooperative efforts in resolving local issues and stimulating local development; d) counties have solidified their position of an inevitable intersection of national sectoral policies and are of vital importance for their transmission to the local level

Lecture by B. Guy Peters Theoretical Debates in Public Administration in the Past 50 Years

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Public Administration and Political System in Albania: Administrative Reforms in an Unstable Political Environment

U radu se analiziraju temeljne komponente javne uprave u Albaniji. Sve se institucije javne uprave analiziraju dinamički i kontekstualno: specifično povijesno naslijeđe i suvremena dinamika političkog sustava temeljni su čimbenici koji uvjetuju (ne)uspjeh reformi albanske javne uprave u tranzicijskom razdoblju. Njihov se utjecaj očituje kroz politizaciju javne uprave, centralističko ustrojstvo javnih institucija i slab položaj lokalne samouprave te hijerarhično i etatizirano poimanje čitavog javnog sektora. Razdoblje intenzivnih upravnih reformi započinje s procesom pristupanja Albanije Europskoj uniji. Ona svojom politikom kondicionalnosti i nadzorom inicira i usmjerava reforme većine javnih institucija. Na formalnoj (zakonodavnoj) razini reforme su uglavnom zadovoljavajuće provedene, no njihova implementacija i stabilnost usvojenih institucija i dalje su problematične. Profesionalizacija službeničkog sustava, jačanje horizontalne koordinacije među tijelima državne uprave i decentralizacija glavni su izazovi razvoja javne uprave u narednom periodu.The article analyses the main features of the Albanian public administration. All institutions are subjected to dynamic and contextual analysis: specific historical heritage and modern dynamics in the political system are the main factors that influence the outcomes of administrative reforms during transitional period. Their impact is evident through politicization of public administration, centralistic organization of public institutions, weak position of local self-government, and hierarchic and etatist understanding of the whole public sector. Comprehensive administrative reforms started parallel with the EU accession process. EU conditionality policy initiates and dictates most of the reform issues. On formal (legislative) level, reforms are enacted, but their implementation and the stability of the new institutions remain problematic. Professionalization of the civil service, strengthening of horizontal coordination in state administration, and decentralization are the main challenges of public administration development in the future

Reforme javne uprave u krhkom institucionalnom okviru: primjer Albanije

Certain specific issues in public administration development and reform during transition period in Albania are analysed. The analysis is theoretically rooted in historical institutionalism, as well as in the models of Europeanization and transition. The transition period was marked by neglect and instrumentalization of public administration, while political institutions were slowly adapting to multiparty system and market economy. Focusing on public administration reform was impeded by political instability and by polarization between two main parties. Formulation and implementation of the main reform strategies happened at the beginning of the new century with intensive involvement of international expert and donor community. Modern administrative reforms are mostly linked to the EU accession process and subjected to the EU conditionality policy. There are several aspects of public administration whose main features are specifically analysed: policy making capacity and horizontal coordination at the central level, civil service system and modernization of human potentials management, decentralization, and the rule of law in administrative procedures and administrative justice. Each aspect has been subjected to extensive reform measures. The main problems are politicization and centralization of public administration as well as incoherence between different reform models that are influenced by divergent donors’ interests. Some improvements are noted in the areas of policy coordination and legislative process, but implementation and internalization of the proclaimed objectives among civil servants and wider range of societal actors remains the main problem. Conclusions are presented for each analysed aspect.Analiziraju se značajke razvoja i reforme javne uprave tijekom tranzicijskog razdoblja u Albaniji. Analiza je teorijski utemeljena na historijskom institucionalizmu te na teorijama tranzicije i europeizacije. Razdoblje tranzicije za javnu je upravu u Albaniji bilo period zanemarivanja i instrumentalizacije, dok su se političke institucije sporo prilagođavale demokratskom višestranačju i tržišnom gospodarstvu. Usredotočenje na reformu javne uprave bilo je onemogućeno polarizacijom između dvije najveće političke stranke i općom političkom nestabilnošću. Oblikovanje i provedba glavnih reformskih strateških dokumenata počelo je početkom 21. stoljeća, intenzivnim uplitanjem i sudjelovanjem međunarodne zajednice. Suvremene upravne reforme usko su povezane s pristupanjem Europskoj uniji i podložne europskoj politici uvjetovanja. Nekoliko je aspekata javne uprave čije su glavne razvojne značajke posebno obrađene: kapacitet za oblikovanje javnih politika i vodoravna koordinacija na središnjoj razini, službenički sustav i modernizacija upravljanja ljudskim potencijalima, decentralizacija te vladavina prava u upravnom postupanju. Svaki od njih je u novije vrijeme podvrgnut reformskim mjerama. Temeljni problemi s uspjehom reformi su politizacija, centralizacija i neusklađenost reformskih modela inspiriranih divergentnim interesima različitih pokrovitelja. Došlo je do određenih poboljšanja u pripremi javnih politika i propisa, no ostaju problemi provedbe i internalizacije proklamiranih ciljeva kod javnih službenika te drugih društvenih aktera. Zaključci su formulirani za svaki promatrani aspekt posebno