Republic of Moldova in the Context of European Integration, Proceedings,
International Conference, Institute of History, State and Law, Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Chisinau, Moldova, pp 102-106,
MODELING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION:
NORMATIVE VERSUS OPERATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRADITION
IN EU MEMBER STATES
Theodore N. Tsekos
Assistant Professor of Public Administration
The Higher Institute for Technological Education of Kalamata
1. THE EUROPEAN ADMINISTRATIVE DIVERSITY
European states share some common political traditions: free elections, public participation and accountability, freedom of speech, local self-government.
Regardless of such similarities the structural and functional transcription of this common political heritage at the administrative level generates public organization paradigms of a great diversity. Many scholars of European PA are discussing the phenomenon of lack of administrative uniformity in Europe and more precisely between the EU member-states.
According to Toonen and Raadschelders1 there is a historical institutional variation of the national administrative systems in Europe. Such a variation generates a multitude of state traditions and, thus, styles of Governance in the European countries. The authors organize European politico-administrative differences according to the following six bi-polar divisions.
1. East-West division
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Western European governance developed through Renaissance, Enlightenment and Reformation is based on a tradition of:
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individualism
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secularisation
ownership
T.A.J. Toonen, J.C.N. Raadschelders, (1997), Public Sector Reform in Western Europe, Background paper for the, Conference on Comparative Civil Service Systems, School of Public and Environmental
Affairs (SPEA), Indiana University
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entrepreneurship
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capitalism
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rationalism
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democracy
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