ABSTRACT

The purpose of this comparative chapter is, on the one hand, to reconstruct the key elements of administrative reforms undertaken in the V4 countries and, on the other, to capture the trajectory of these reforms and to attempt to conceptualise them. For this reason, the authors set out to outline the processes and effects of administrative reforms undertaken in the V4 after 1989, with particular emphasis on the period after 2004 (EU accession). Considering the multidimensionality of these reforms, only their selected aspects and effects on the quality of governance will be considered. For each V4 country, the analysis comprises the issues of political determinants of administrative reforms, central government (administration), and local government. The final part of each analysis offers conclusions applicable to the country studied. For this reason, administrative reforms implemented in Hungary and Poland are given more attention than changes implemented in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia.