PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM AS A WAY OF INCREASING THE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY OF THE STATE: FOREIGN EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The author analyzes public administration reforms in Denmark, Poland, Estonia, and the ways to optimize the civil service in Ukraine. The article emphasizes that reforms in public administration directly influence the improvement of a state's institutional capacity. It is noted that the public administration reform strategy must have clearly defined priorities. For instance, in Ukraine, the reform plans to cut about 20.000 civil service jobs and reduce the number of ministries by one-third. While this may seem appealing at first glance, it requires a solid justification for the necessity of such a step. Proposals to reduce the number of civil servants have always been a key element of public administration reforms in many countries. For example, in 2018, a group of influential Estonian entrepreneurs established the State Reform Foundation, with the goal of preparing a plan for state reform aimed at sharply reducing the size of Estonia's government bodies. Similar thoughts about reducing the number of officials were popular in Poland, Denmark, and Israel. In modern constitutional democracies, the number of government ministers heading ministries usually ranges from 12 to 16. In Ukraine, this situation is complicated by Article 114 of the Constitution, which stipulates that, in addition to the Prime Minister and ministers, there must also be a First Deputy Prime Minister and at least two Deputy Prime Ministers. The main purpose of such a system is to ensure democratic accountability and control. However, under Ukraine’s semi-presidential system, this democratic accountability is almost ineffective, as power is concentrated in the president's office. There is no universally fixed number of ministers for all countries; it depends on factors such as the size of the country, its economy, level of development, and specific political context. Having the appropriate number of ministries helps ensure that each can focus on specific areas without dispersing resources and attention. This contributes to more efficient implementation of public administration reform.