PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICAL SYSTEM IN ALBANIA: ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS IN AN UNSTABLE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

The article analyses the main features of the Albanian public administration. All institutions are subjected to dynamic and contextual analysis: specific historical heritage and modern dynamics in the political system are the main factors that influence the outcomes of administrative reforms during transitional period. Their impact is evident through politicization of public administration, centralistic organization of public institutions, weak position of local self-government, and hierarchic and etatist understanding of the whole public sector. Comprehensive administrative reforms started parallel with the EU accession process. EU conditionality policy initiates and dictates most of the reform issues. On formal (legislative) level, reforms are enacted, but their implementation and the stability of the new institutions remain problematic. Professionalization of the civil service, strengthening of horizontal coordination in state administration, and decentralization are the main challenges of public administration development in the future.