Civil Service Reform in Transition: A Case Study of Russia

Review of European and Russian Affairs. 2013. Vol. 8. No. 1. P. 1–17.

Inkina S.

Public administrative and civil service reforms have widely been used as a popular strategy to bring about systemic changes in entrenched bureaucracies. The general tendency that occurred in Post-Communist states was to adopt comprehensive policy measures dealing with the efficiency and effectiveness of state apparatus. This paper examines the process of an attempted civil service reform in Russia, starting from the first term of Putin’s Presidency. Based upon interviews with experts and public officials, it elaborates on the role of leadership, or the willingness of the national political elite to improve the system of public administration; the impact of path-dependency upon the course of institutional transformation; and finally, the role of reform strategy in the policy implementation process. The article concludes that the case of civil service reform in Russia may be explained by a combination of policy-making variables listed above. In addition, it highlights the transformation of the Russian policy-making system during the years of political centralization.

 

Keywords: политические институты, Российская Федерация, государственное управление, civil service, political leadership, политические институты и процессы в России, policy implementation, reform capacity, public bureaucracy, reform strategy, реформа государственной гражданской службы, гражданская служба, потенциал реформирования, стратегия реформ, Russian Federation