Critiques internationales 2007- 2 (n° 35)| ISSN 1290-7839 | ISSN numérique : en cours | ISBN : 978-2-7246-3093-0 | page 51 à 68 Distribution électronique Cairn pour les éditions De Boeck Université. © De Boeck Université. Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. Il est interdit, sauf accord préalable et écrit de l’éditeur, de reproduire (notamment par photocopie) partiellement ou totalement le présent article, de le stocker dans une banque de données ou de le communiquer au public sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit.

ABSTRACT — This paper examines the impact of the legacy of the past on administrative reform trajectories in post-communist East Central Europe. It argues that East Central Europe has numerous different legacies that have the potential to matter for post-communist reforms, that any legacy explanation of administrative reform in East Central Europe is required to spell out the causal mechanisms that link the legacy of the past and the outcomes of the post-communist present, and that the interaction effects between the legacy of the past and other important drivers of administrative reforms need to be considered, for instance, European integration and the structure of party political competition. The investigation of the politicisation of the civil service in Hungary shows that the main influence of the legacy is exercised through the impact of the late communist legacy on the structure of party competition. The legacy of the past has contributed to the polarisation between an ex-communist and an anticommunist political camp in Hungary. The legacy also continues to shape the identities and interaction orientations of key political and administrative actors vis-à-vis civil service governance. The legacy of the past does therefore exercise an important, if indirect, influence on present day civil service governance.

This paper examines the impact of the legacy of the past on administrative reform trajectories in post-communist East Central Europe. It argues that East Central Europe has numerous different legacies that have the potential to matter for post-communist reforms, that any legacy explanation of administrative reform in East Central Europe is required to spell out the causal mechanisms that link the legacy of the past and the outcomes of the post-communist present, and that the interaction effects between the legacy of the past and other important drivers of administrative reforms need to be considered, for instance, European integration and the structure of party political competition. The investigation of the politicisation of the civil service in Hungary shows that the main influence of the legacy is exercised through the impact of the late communist legacy on the structure of party competition. The legacy of the past has contributed to the polarisation between an ex-communist and an anticommunist political camp in Hungary. The legacy also continues to shape the identities and interaction orientations of key political and administrative actors vis-à-vis civil service governance. The legacy of the past does therefore exercise an important, if indirect, influence on present day civil service governance.