Reforming the Public Sector in Eastern European and Former Soviet Union Countries: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This article applies a systematic literature-based approach to select, analyze, and categorize publications appearing on public sector management (PSM) reforms in Eastern European (EE) and former Soviet Union (FSU) countries. Findings of the literature review reveal the complexity of reformation in the region and point to the multilayered character of the reform processes, including design of the reform content, implementation, and evaluation of achieved results. The analysis, also shows that the reforms’ results are uneven and somewhat controversial. This article contributes by systematizing literature on transforming PSM in EE and FSU countries; analyzing the trajectories of the dominant reforms and finding overlooked topics; providing avenues for future research; and by contextually covering twenty-eight countries that experienced economic transition and significant societal transformations.

When social policy walks into the justice system...

“…The discussion of the presented dilemmas requires both the legal and the policy analysis angle. Public policy is a broad term describing the actions (or non-actions) of public actors (typically the government or executive) regarding a particular issue (or field) (Knill andTosun 2012 andVakulenko andMattei 2023). Policymaking (and implementation) is generally dominated by the executive; however, other actors are also relevant: the legislature, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, political parties, and private actors such as interest groups, NGOs, and experts (Knill and Tosun 2012).…”