Mixes, Matches and Mistakes: New Public Management in Russian and the Former Soviet Republics

A cross-section of reform efforts in the independent former Soviet states of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania and Russia, demonstrating some successful transformations, some much more limited successes, while the continuing outcomes of most reforms can be expected to be mixtures of success and failure. The reforms also represent a mixture of instruments, and a range of perceived solution for the governance problems facing these countries; as well as the variety of levels of change-economically, politically, and administratively. The proposals from the five authors recognize the needs for fine-tuning reforms and can serve as a model for thinking through these change processes in other countries. Choosing packages for improving the performance of the public sector should be done very carefully, and with a mind to adapting the patterns of change to the particular demands of each system. A publication of the Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative of the Open Society Institute, New-York-Budapest.