Public Administration as Representative Bureaucracy

Abstract

Article by Mirko Pečarič (Associate Professor for Administrative Law and Public Administration, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia). In the presence of more and all wide-encompassing, global problems it is obvious that states cannot be omnipotent institutions. Important are all, even small efforts for the fulfilment of common good. These tiny ingredients of democracy are present also in the public administrations as the most important repository of governmental knowledge. Governmental actions should be enhanced also by people’s cooperation as the only way by which knowledge can be democratically enhanced; states need new institutional arrangements that will reflect a higher level of legitimacy proportionately with changes in their environments. In the present time this can be the fastest approached by emphasising the values and principles of public service. Public servants are not only experts, but also citizens for whom they provide public goods and services. Their effort is many times overlooked, although their ability to accommodate to changes is one of the most important things of a state’s prosper or decline.