Administrative reform and European Union integration: Examining the role of new public management in the Republic of Montenegro.

摘要

As European Union (EU) membership has expanded from six to 27 nation-states, so too have its standards for accession (integration). The current wave of enlargement is centered in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and as a formerly communist region, prospective member states must now undergo widespread administrative reform and demonstrate the capacity to implement the supranational/intergovernmental organization's policies and principles, most notably those related to promoting democratic rule and the facilitation of a market economy. In recent years, these reforms have strongly resembled the New Public Management (NPM) movement---one of public administration's latest trends---in that prospective member states are placing an emphasis on smaller government, efficiency, and private sector management practices. This case study analysis examines the role of NPM in the Republic of Montenegro, a former Yugoslavian nation currently engaged in membership negotiations with the EU. In addition to providing a descriptive element, this analysis also contributes a prescriptive component that examines the potential implications for NPM on the development of democratic governance at the national and supranational level, civil society cultivation, and the future of the EU.