Presents new work in the field of public administration in Europe and considers both American and European approaches to public sector management and administrative reform. Begins with introductory chapters examining public management in Europe and the US and explores paradoxes in administrative reform. Part II presents case studies of European management reforms representing both successes and failures. Part III considers management, the legal state, and democracy, and a final paper offers a North American perspective on administrative reform in Europe. For academics, policy makers, and management practitioners. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

trata da reforma administrativa na alemanha, austria, suiça, frança e belgica.

The New Public Management paradigm seems to have produced a convergence of administrative reform. However, specific implementations of NPM show range of forms and results including performance indicators, personal reforms and evaluations of reforms. This text demonstrates how NPM is crafted differently in various institutional contexts.

Verheijen and Coombes (U. of Limerick, Ireland) question whether models of public administration and strategies for reform applied in Western capitalist economic systems can provide solutions to the particular problems of Central and Eastern Europe, or whether those problems might be aggravated by copying Western models and strategies. Using case studies, they define the main problems facing public administrators in transitional countries and provide a comparative evaluation of the relevance for these countries of reform measures undertaken in OECD states. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

`Its strength lies in combining theoretical insights with an impressive range of empirical material. The analysis is subtle and multi-layered.... This is a timely and important book' - Political Studies `Local governance have gained massive attention among scholars and practitioners during the past several years. Peter John's book fills a void in the literature by tracing the historical roots of local governance and by placing his findings in a comparative perspective' - Professor Jon Pierre, University of Gothenburg, Sweden `Peter John has produced a fascinating and stimulating book in which he assesses current developments in urban politics and local government in Europe and suggests how these changes are leading to different patterns of sub-national territorial politics in the EU today. What he has to say is of important interest to all students of local government; comparative politics and of territorial politics more generally' - Michael Goldsmith, University of Salford `this book offers a fascinating comparative analysis... themes such as New Public Management, globalisation, regionalism and privatisation will be relevant to numerous courses in government, politics, public administration and public policy' - West European Politics This text provides a comprehensive introduction to local government and urban politics in contemporary Western Europe. It is the first book to map and explain the change in local political systems and to place these in comparative context. The book introduces students to the traditional structures and institutions of local government and shows how these have been transformed in response to increased economic and political competition, new ideas, institutional reform and the Europeanization of public policy. At the book's core is the perceived transition from local government to local governance. The book traces this key development thematically across a wide range of West European states including: Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.

This book provides a comparative perspective on the function and nature of local and regional governments in eastern and western Europe. It offers an overview of the structure, development, responsibilities and pressures for reform that affect European local administrations.

This open access book presents a topical, comprehensive and differentiated analysis of Germany’s public administration and reforms. It provides an overview on key elements of German public administration at the federal, Länder and local levels of government as well as on current reform activities of the public sector. It examines the key institutional features of German public administration; the changing relationships between public administration, society and the private sector; the administrative reforms at different levels of the federal system and numerous sectors; and new challenges and modernization approaches like digitalization, Open Government and Better Regulation. Each chapter offers a combination of descriptive information and problem-oriented analysis, presenting key topical issues in Germany which are relevant to an international readership.