Over recent decades, decentralization has emerged as a key Public Sector Reform strategy in a wide variety of international contexts. Yet, despite its emergence as a ubiquitous activity that cuts across disciplinary lines in international development, decentralization is understood and applied in many different ways by parties acting from contrary perspectives. This book offers a fascinating insight into theory and practice surrounding decentralization activities in the Public Sectors of developing and transitional countries. In drawing on the expertise of established scholars, the book...

The book explores theoretical, methodological, and empirical underpinnings of administrative culture as well as prospects and challenges associated with it in the context of and across developing and transitional countries. Referring to dominant norms and values in public organizations administrative culture is about the attitudes and perceptions of public officials. In many countries civil servants are criticised for being corrupt, incompetent, unreliable and self-centred. Their attitudes, norms and values and the way they act are in constant conflict with rule of law. Recently the virtues...