Hide
Show all
Email this article Institutional and Performance Effects of Administrative Decentralization in Croatian Territorial Governance Setting
Abstract
In 2020, the deconcentrated model of the performance of state administration tasks in Croatian territorial units was replaced with the model of administrative decentralization. The new State Administration System Act abolished the county state administration offices as first-instance state administration bodies and transferred their tasks to the delegated scope of competence of counties as second-level self-government units. The paper explores the effects of administrative decentralization. Based on theoretical assumptions on decentralization effects, comparative experience with administrative decentralization ex-ante evaluation of county state administration offices abolition, five hypotheses about the effects of administrative decentralization in Croatian territorial governance setting are formulated. The hypotheses are tested by analysis of the legal and institutional framework of the performance of delegated tasks, empirical data gathered through the questionnaires, nine interviews, and secondary data. The results show that administrative decentralization strengthened the role of Croatian counties, strengthened their administrative role, strengthened the role of county governors, increased the horizontal and weakened vertical coordination, improved some aspects of service delivery but not uniformity in service provision across the state territory, and improved the transparency but not led to the democratization of county government. Five national-specific factors are analyzed as possible explanations for such results: general societal trends, external pressures, characteristics of Croatian public administration, general features of the Croatian local self-government system, and adopted organizational design.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
LITERATURE
Đulabić V., Harmonizacija regionalne samouprave i regionalno pitanje u Hrvatskoj, [in:] Europeizacija hrvatske lokalne samouprave: dva desetljeća primjene standarda Europske povelje o lokalnoj samoupravi, ed. I. Koprić, Zagreb 2018.
Đulabić V., Županije i sudjelovanje građana, [in:] Referendum i neposredna demokracija u Hrvatskoj, eds. I. Koprić, F. Staničić, Zagreb 2021.
Đulabić V., Čepo D., Regionalism and Sub-Regional Representation: A Guide to the County Transformation of Croatia, “ Hrvatska i komparativna javna uprava: časopis za teoriju i praksu javne uprave” 2017, vol. 17(4), DOI: https://doi.org/10.31297/hkju.17.4.2.
Ebinger F., Grohs S., Reiter R., The Performance of Decentralization Strategies Compared: An Assessment of Decentralization Strategies and Their Impact on Local Government Performance in Germany, France and England, “Local Government Studies” 2011, vol. 37(5), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2011.604557.
Ebinger F., Richter P., Decentralizing for Performance? A Quantitative Assessment of Functional Reforms in the German Länder, “International Review of Administrative Science” 2016, vol. 82(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852315586916.
Giljević T., Koordinativni kapacitet Vlade Republike Hrvatske: aktualno stanje i preporuke za poboljšanje, “Sveske za javno pravo” 2017, vol. 8.
Koprić I., Lokalna samouprava – nacrt skripta za studij javne uprave, Zagreb 2005.
Koprić I., Novela Zakona o lokalnoj i područnoj (regionalnoj) samoupravi iz 2017, [in:] Europeizacija hrvatske lokalne samouprave: dva desetljeća primjene standarda Europske povelje o lokalnoj samoupravi, ed. I. Koprić, Zagreb 2018.
Koprić I., Reforma hrvatske javne uprave: problemi, rješenja i zablude, [in:] Hrvatska država i uprava – stanje i perspektive, ed. J. Barbić, Zagreb 2008.
Koprić I., Reforma javne uprave u Hrvatskoj: ni bolni rezovi ni postupne promjene – nužna je nova upravna paradigma, “Političke analize” 2016, vol. 7(26).
Koprić I., Stanje lokalne samouprave u Hrvatskoj, “Hrvatska javna uprava” 2010, vol. 10(3).
Koprić I., Crnković M., Lopižić I., Control Over Local Governments in Croatia: Many Components, Still Weak Control, [in:] A Threat to Autonomy? Control and Supervision of Local and Regional Government Activities / Les contrôles de l’action publique locale et régionale: une autonomie menacée?, eds. M.E. Geis, S. Guérard, X. Volmerange, Lille 2018.
Koprić I., Marčetić G., Musa A., Đulabić V., Lalić Novak G., Upravna znanost – javna uprava u suvremenom europskom kontekstu, Zagreb 2021.
Kuhlmann S., Administrative Reforms in Intergovernmental Setting: Impacts on Multi-Level Governance from a Comparative Perspective, [in:] Multi-Level Governance: The Missing Linkages, ed. E. Ongaro, Bingley 2015, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/s2045-794420150000004008.
Kuhlmann S., Grohs S., Bogumil J., Reforming Public Administration in Multilevel Systems: An Evaluation of Performance Changes in European Local Governments, [in:] Public Administration and the Modern State, eds. E. Bohne, J. Graham, J.C.N. Raadschelders, J.P. Lehrke, Hampshire–New York 2014.
Kuhlmann S., Wayenberg E., Institutional Impact Assessment in Multi-Level Systems: Conceptualizing Decentralization Effects from a Comparative Perspective, “International Review of Administrative Sciences” 2016, vol. 82(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852315583194.
Kuhlmann S., Wollmann H., Introduction to Comparative Public Administration: Administrative Systems and Reforms in Europe, Cheltenham 2019.
Kuhlmann S., Wollmann H., The Evaluation of Institutional Reforms at Sub-national Government Levels: A Still Neglected Research Agenda, “Local Government Studies” 2011, vol. 37(5), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2011.604542.
Lopižić I., Preneseni djelokrug u lokalnoj samoupravi: teorijska razmatranja i komparativna iskustva, “Pravni vjesnik” 2021, vol. 37(3–4), DOI: https://doi.org/10.25234/pv/13901.
Lopižić I., Uloga ureda državne uprave u hrvatskome upravno-političkom sustavu, “Hrvatska i komparativna javna uprava: časopis za teoriju i praksu javne uprave” 2020, vol. 20(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.31297/hkju.20.3.6.
Lopižić I., Barta A., Deconcentrated State Administration in Croatia and Hungary – Same Aims Different Pathways, “Juridical Tribune – Tribuna Juridica” 2022, vol. 12(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.24818/tbj/2022/12/2.06.
Lopižić I., Manojlović Toman R., Integracija poslova ureda državne uprave u županijsku upravu: dosadašnji rezultati, “Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu” 2021, vol. 71(3–4), DOI: https://doi.org/10.3935/zpfz.71.34.06.
Lopižić I., Manojlović Toman R., Prethodna evaluacija ukidanja ureda državne uprave u županija, “Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu” 2019, vol. 69(5–6), DOI: https://doi.org/10.3935/zpfz.69.56.09.
Marčetić G., Novo lokalno službeničko pravo i upravljanje ljudskim potencijalima u reformiranoj lokalnoj samoupravi, [in:] Reforma lokalne i regionalne samouprave u Republici Hrvatskoj, ed. I. Koprić, Zagreb 2013.
Marčetić G., Manojlović Toman R., Lopižić I., Reform of Croatian Public Administration: Challenges, Results, and Role of the EU, [in:] Crisis Era European Integration: Economic, Political and Social Lessons from Croatia, eds. J. Puljiz, J. Butković (forthcoming 2023).
Reiter R., Grohs S., Ebinger F., Kuhlmann S., Bogumil J., Impacts of Decentralization: The French Experience in a Comparative Perspective, “French Politics” 2010, vol. 8(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/fp.2010.5.
Škarica M., Vukojičić Tomić T., Croatia: Games of Local Democracy in the Shadow of National Politics, [in:] The Routledge Handbook of Local Elections and Voting in Europe, eds. A. Gendźwiłł, U. Kjaer, K. Steyvers, London–New York 2022, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003009672-41.
Wollmann H., Comparing Local Government Reforms in England, Sweden, France and Germany: Between Continuity and Change, Divergence and Convergence, Ludwigsburg 2008.
Wollmann H., Reforming Local Leadership and Local Democracy: The Cases of England, Sweden, Germany and France in Comparative Perspective, “Local Government Studies” 2008, vol. 34(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930701852344.
ONLINE SOURCES
Bronić M., Ott K., Petrušić M., Prijanović S., Stanić B., Proračunska transparentnost županija, gradova i općina, November 2022 – April 2023, https://www.ijf.hr/files/file/prezentacije/Prijakovic_05072023.pdf (access: 10.9.2023).
Hina, Akcija USKOK-a u Međimurju: Istražni zatvor policajcu i županijskom pročelniku, https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/akcija-uskok-a-u-medimurju-istrazni-zatvor-policajcu-i-zupanijskom-procelniku-1522624 (access: 20.7.2023).
Koprić I., Lokalna samouprava u razvoju – vrijednosti i uloge, 2015, https://www.academia.edu/21588077/%20Uloge_lokalne_samouprave (access: 15.7.2023).
Koprić I., Public Administration Characteristics and Performance in EU28: Croatia, https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/97f87f51-9608-11e8-8bc1-01aa75ed71a1/language-en (access: 15.7.2023).
Koprić I., Manojlović R., Đurman P., Development of Local Democracy in Croatia – Two Steps Forward, One Step Back. Or Vice Versa?, https://www.psa.ac.uk/sites/default/files/conference/papers/2017/IK-RM-PD-Local%20democracy.pdf (access: 15.7.2023).
Marčetić G., Manojlović Toman R., Džinić J., Tackling the Challenge of Employment and Retention in the Civil Service, EUPAN Presidency Brief Report Croatia, https://www.eupan.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EUPAN-Presidency-Report-Croatia.pdf (access: 12.7.2023).
Ministry of Finance, Izvještaj o izvršenju lokalnih proračuna, https://mfin.gov.hr/istaknute-teme/lokalna-samouprava/financijski-izvjestaji-jlp-r-s/203 (access: 14.7.2023).
Ministry of Public Administration, Izvješće o radu ureda državne uprave u županijama za 2015. godinu, 8.7.2016, https://mpu.gov.hr/UserDocsImages//MURH-%20arhiva/Strategije,%20planovi%20i%20izvješća/Izvješća//Izvješće%20o%20radu%20ureda%20državne%20uprave%20u%20županijama%20za%202015.%20godinu.pdf (access: 13.7.2023).
LEGAL ACTS
Act on Local and Territorial (Regional) Self-Government (Official Gazette 33/01, 60/01, 129/05, 109/07, 125/08, 36/09, 36/09, 150/11, 144/12, 19/13, 137/15, 123/17, 98/19, 144/20).
Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette 56/90, 135/97, 08/98, 113/00, 124/00, 28/01, 41/01, 55/01, 76/10, 85/10, 05/14).
State Administration System Act (Official Gazette 69/19).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/sil.2023.32.5.195-216
Date of publication: 2023-12-31 14:29:29
Date of submission: 2023-11-06 10:38:59
Statistics
Indicators
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2023 Iva Lopižić, Romea Manojlović Toman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.