Europeanization and Bureaucratic Autonomy in the New Member States: A Case Study of the Agricultural Paying Agency in Slovakia

15 Pages Posted: 19 Mar 2014

See all articles by Miroslav Beblavy

Miroslav Beblavy

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

The paper explores the impact of Europeanization on bureaucratic autonomy in the new EU member states using as a case study the Agricultural Paying Agency in Slovakia. The paper shows that Europeanization had limited sustained impact on the personal autonomy of senior officials; however, it requires and sustains the personal autonomy of an extensive cadre of mid-level and junior civil servants. At the same time, it necessitates and continues to sustain significant change in the way agricultural subsidies are distributed, with a high level of autonomy in implementation and a lower, but still significant,measure of autonomy in policy-making. These conclusions can also generally be supported by evidence from Lithuania and Poland. In addition, the coercive elements of Europeanization interacted with the temporarily high bureaucratic autonomy in Slovakia to ‘open’ non-coercive channels of Europeanization of agricultural subsidies and beyond.

Keywords: Europeanization, Slovakia, agriculture, bureaucratic autonomy

Suggested Citation

Beblavy, Miroslav, Europeanization and Bureaucratic Autonomy in the New Member States: A Case Study of the Agricultural Paying Agency in Slovakia (2009). Public Administration Vol. 87, No. 4, 2009 (923–937), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2409685

Miroslav Beblavy (Contact Author)

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) ( email )

1 Place du Congres
Brussels, 1000
Belgium

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