Modernisation trends in public administration in Slovenia

Abstract

Although no longer appropriate, the classical model of bureaucratic organisation (Weber) still remains the basis of public administration. First major reforms in public administration were introduced by market-oriented New Public Management, but recently, as a reflection of social and political changes, Post-New Public Management approaches have developed. The paper puts an emphasis on modern approaches, which do not appear in pure form but in the form of hybrids. The decision on the optimal direction of public administration development is left to the states, bearing in mind that each public administration reform and hybridisation of approaches affect the complexity of public administration. The paper analyses the Slovenian public administration reform, where we find that the current public administration development strategy is based on modern elements and values of different theoretical doctrines, like Post-New Public Management approaches, but (as shown by the current Covid-19 crisis) that diverse efforts are required in the future to achieve this goal.