ABSTRACT
State transformation reforms aiming at strengthening state capacity and autonomy as well as the democratic quality of the state should have a high priority in policy making in postcommunist countries. This chapter suggests that it is enough to show the importance of the state in postcommunist transformations and consider some factors that are likely to be vital in future analytic frameworks. It focuses on heart of the postcommunist transformation process that is the transformation of the state administration into new forms adapted to democracy, market economy, and to the new post-1989 international context. The organization and professionalism of public administration must be accounted a factor in understanding transformation success in postcommunist countries. The most appropriate public administrations are those which are capable and autonomous, and are properly linked with society. The chapter emphasizes a strong state try to capture the range of special demands on the public administration of a democracy.
