Public Administration after Communism: The Case of the Polish Civil Service

Abstract:     
The evolution of the Polish regulations on civil service was not a linear process. One may distinguish three distinct phases of the post-1989 relevant legislative framework. The introductory legislative stage (1989-1998) was linked to the choice of an appropriate regulatory setting for public officials law. After various research studies and analyses first legislative projects were made, finalized within the adoption of the Civil Service Act (CSA) of 1996, and only two years later, with the CSA of 1998. This latter regulation may described as the fundament of the Weberian model of career, enriched with some elements of the position model (motivation incentives). Within the intermediate application stage (1998-2008) the rigid normative framework of CSA of 1998 was being constantly rejected, firstly by de facto actions of politicians, and then de jure, with the amendment provisions and finally with the adoption of the new CSA of 2006, allowing for official inclusion of political elites into public administration. The last reconstruction stage (since 2008) signifies the return to the basic ideas of Weberian model of administration, with the adoption of CSA of 2008. The article explores the reasons for such a trajectory of institutional change in the Polish civil service, also within a comparative perspective.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 22

Keywords: public administration, government institutions, Central Europe, labour relations, history of public administration, post-communism

JEL Classification: H11, J45, N44

Accepted Paper Series