Political Influence and the Transformation of Civil Service Systems

Abstract

This chapter aims to explain the relationship between politicians and civil servants that currently dominate the processes of government in European countries. Links between politics and civil services involve complex phenomena – from neo-Weberian governance, through public management to politicisation or, in extreme cases, partisanship. While the history of the division between administration and politics and its impact on the civil service of the New Public Management has been quite well-researched, studies regarding the degree of politicisation/partisanship remain under-represented. The lack of similar assessment criteria for the political neutrality of civil services in Western Europe and partisanship in those of Central and Eastern European countries poses an additional difficulty. Therefore, intertwined processes – from the institutional amalgamation of politics and administration in the West of Europe to the development of partisan nomenclature in Central and Eastern European countries (such as Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia) can be observed.