ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the structures of public administration in the four Visegrád countries. The aim of the chapter is to provide a general overview of the basic structure in each country, describe how it has evolved after 1989, and explain how and why the administrative systems have gone different ways, especially in the last decade. First, the conceptual and theoretical framework that relates the development of PA in the V4 to more general concepts of PA scholarship, is provided. Second, organisational structures in all V4 countries both before and after their changes after 1989 are critically reviewed. Third, the development of PA structures in the V4 are compared. It is argued that the paths of the V4 have substantially diverged after EU accession, and that now we can hardly speak of a particular “CEE model.” The chapter concludes with an attempt to uncover the factors that led to this diversity.
