ABSTRACT
In any political system, one of the most important relationships defining governance capacity is that between career bureaucrats and political executives. This relationship is especially important in democratic regimes. Political leaders are concerned with implementation, and may attempt to use it as a means of enhancing their own political power and their rapport with voters. Politicians want to be sure that the permanent, bureaucratic apparatus of government does what they want it to do, and may be willing to use a variety of mechanisms to ensure that the bureaucracy follows the wishes of their political “masters”. This collaboration may be facilitated when, as in many European and Latin American countries, the politicians are often former bureaucrats and hence may understand how public bureaucracies function. The political party systems in the Central and Eastern European countries have been unstable since they regained independence.
