Public Sector Reforms in Germany: Whence and Where? A Case of Ambivalence
Abstrakti
This paper presents a critical account of the
development and current state of public sector
reform in Germany. ln particular, the paper seeks to
explain why Germany appears to be a late-comer in
implementing New Public Management (NPM). ln
doing so, the authors point to administrative and
political key traditions, recall the reform history of
the last three decades, and finally describe the
various discourse communities which shape the
current reform debate. The first part of the article
takes stock of the "assets" and "liabilities" of the
German administrative system in the light of public
sector modernization. ln the second part, the
authors assess the recent changes in Germany's
public sector in more detail. Although the direct
impact of NPM-thinking has been rather limited so
far, so the authors conclude, the advocates of the
"managerialist revolution" did their important share to
throw apen again the "window of reform
opportunity".
