ABSTRACT
The V4 countries, after almost 30 years of, in many respects, spectacular reforms in the field of democratisation of governance systems and building market economies, now display a definite preference for governments with populist leanings; the predilection affects the region’s countries with varying intensity (the trends are particularly evident in Hungary and in Poland). Likewise, the concept of illiberal democracy is gaining popularity among some of the ruling elites as well as enjoying the support of a considerable proportion of society. As a consequence, changes in the institutional arrangements underpinning governance mechanisms are becoming more and more evident. The process of administrative reforms in the V4 and the reversal of the effects of those already carried out have a decidedly negative impact on the quality of public governance in the region. The dysfunctions present in the administrative systems of these countries since the beginning of the political transformation, largely rooted in the times of real socialism, are becoming more and more prominent. An accumulation of these dysfunctions may not only undermine the efforts to reform public administration in the V4 countries, but also lead to a significant deterioration of the quality of governance in the region.
