Overview

There is a tendency in the international literature to generalize about developments and reforms in public administration across groups or types of country, often across those in close geographical proximity. This book concentrates on Romania to provide a detailed analysis of its public administration trajectory and contends that is too simplistic to regard Romania as 'similar' to its CEE neighbours. Institutional theory, both historical and sociological, provides a framework for analyzing the present state of public administration in Romania, characterized as an 'unprofessional bureaucracy'. The empirical research is based on interviews with members of the bureaucratic and political elites of Romania. This research clearly explains the state of public administration in the country, which is far removed from the idealized and internationalized approaches to administrative change typified by reform movements such as New Public Management and Governance.