| Review of: | Administrative Reforms in the Baltic Sea Region, |
|---|---|
| Reviewed By: | Jean-Claude Garcia-Zamor |
| Reviewed in: | Public Administration Review |
| Date accepted online: | 02/11/2007 |
| Published in print: | Volume 67, Issue 2, Pages 343-366 |
Modernizing Government in Eastern Europe
A chapter by Bradley D. Woodworth, "Administrative Reform and Social Policy in the Baltic Cities of the Russian Empire: Riga and Reval, 1870-1914" (111-50) discusses how the all-Russian municipal reform of 1870 brought immense changes to urban self-government in the Baltic region and marked increased efforts by St. Petersburg to integrate Baltic administrative structures with those of the rest of the empire. Despite the chaos that the cities of Riga and Reval experienced during the 1905 revolution, elected officials in both cities governed with skill and determination. In both cities, significant progress was made in expanding the primary education system, and further reforms and improvements were made in the two cities' infrastructure and public services. Voluntary associations also made important contributions to the betterment of urban life.
Øyvind N. Grøndahl and Tore Grønlie's chapter, "From the Swedish Ideal to EU Direction: Scandinavian Central-State Administrative Reform in the 1980s and 1990s, in a Post-1945 Perspective" (151-96), describes and explains reform policies and developmental trends in the political-administrative systems of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in the 1980s and 1990s by positioning policies and trends in these two decades within a perspective of 50 years of Scandinavian post-World War II reform history. The authors suggest there are strong elements of continuity between the widespread antibureaucratic sentiment of the generally pro-state 1970s and the anti-state criticism of the 1980s and the 1990s.
The third chapter in English, written by E. Arfon Rees, is titled "Politics, Administration and Decision-Making in the Soviet Union, 1917-1953" (259-90). This chapter describes the huge expansion of the Soviet administrative system with the institution of the "command economy" as part of Stalin's "revolution from above" from 1928 to 1932. The author argues that the study of the administrative system has been neglected by Western scholars, who have concentrated their research on the political system and the processes of decision making. He suggests the reason for this bias is that the Soviet administrative system was highly politicized, lacked a corporate identity, and was reshaped in accordance with the policy priorities of the political leadership, which imposed fundamental changes in all major policy fields. However, since the opening of the Soviet archives in 1991, the organization and operation of the Soviet political-administrative system has been the subject of detailed studies in a way that was previously impossible.
Rees reviews the work done by Western and Russian scholars in this field, especially new research on the inner workings of the higher party and governmental bodies. These studies bring out the great complexity of the operation of the political-administrative system and highlight the inner conflicts within and among institutions. Rees argues that these revelations call for a new approach to the study of the Soviet political-administrative system.
The first literature review essay in English, by Peter Waldron, covers "Recent Literature on the Political-Administrative System in Tsarist Russia after 1850." These books reflect the tensions that were present inside the tsarist regime regarding the wisdom of pursuing reform in an autocratic state. They discuss some of the central individuals involved at the highest levels of the Russian state, especially the tsars themselves and their most senior ministers, and counterpoise this with studies of the institutional structures that were developing after 1850. The other review essay in English, by Hkan Forsell, "Comparing Governance in European Urban History," evaluates methodological considerations and empirical perspectives on urban and administrative history in the volume of essays
The remaining eight chapters written in German describe and analyze diverse administrative reform experiences. They have in common a theme of transition, reflecting the extent of political and administrative changes that have taken place in the Baltic region. The first four papers deal with 19th-century reforms in three German states (Western Pomerania, Mecklenburg, and Schleswig) and in Denmark. Administrative reforms in Mecklenburg, Schleswig, and Denmark followed constitutional changes, whereas those in Western Pomerania and Schleswig were concerned with the impact of political conflicts. A chapter by Lars Nilsson on municipal administrative reform preceding the welfare state spans 70 years (1860-1930) and two cities, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Two chapters are more contemporary, analyzing administrative reforms in Estonia and Poland in preparation for entry into the European Union, as well as the former East German states since 1990. The final chapter compares the self-representations of two cities in the pictorial programs of their town halls: Danzig in 1600 and Oslo in 1950.
The two literature review essays in German cover recent publications on the history of administration in the northwestern borderlands of the Russian Empire, 1710-1917, and the development of a textbook on recent Polish administrative history.
There is no single theme uniting the components of this volume, but several chapters discuss contemporary reforms in the context of historical administrative reforms. After the fall of communism in 1990, most of the countries in the Baltic Sea region started reform programs to make their public institutions more efficient and modern. Under the socialist system, public institutions were primarily instruments of control over society. In addition, the administrations were insufficiently financed and civil servants were in need of training. In the process of moving the political systems from a socialist to a market economy, the new leaders of these countries began to demand from their bureaucracies a kind of adaptability and creativity that had never been promoted during the old rule. In addition, many of these countries aspired to become part of the European Union, and thus they had to undertake administrative reforms in order to qualify for future membership. Although only two of the chapters address directly the European Union, several other historical reforms discussed in the book are helpful for understanding contemporary public administration in these countries.
The book is quite valuable for European public administration scholars and students, as in Europe, there is an established tradition of studying administrative history in schools of administration and law. This is not the case in the United States. Very few American universities offer courses in administrative history, and probably none in European administrative history. The fact that most of the chapters are written in German, a language that very few American scholars use, may limit the usefulness of the book for them. But it is nonetheless an interesting book for American researchers because several of the chapters use methodologies that can be duplicated in other contexts. The book also reveals how a good understanding of administrative history can broaden one's appreciation of contemporary administrative practices.