Search

Since its origins, when it was mainly connected to the field of economics, game theory has brought important theoretic insights into many domains. Besides biology, philosophy or computer science, its findings have been applied to various fields of public policy. One specific area of public policy is that of security. Within the last two decades we have been witnesses to a significant increase in efforts to model security issues using tools of game theory and to derive political implications. The paper deals with the model of a Stackelberg security game and its real-world applications in security domains. The main aim and purpose of the paper is to provide a survey of selected cases of real-world deployed applications of the game-theoretic Stackelberg model in the area of public security and, based on the literature analysis, to discuss the potential and limitations of the model for policy- and decision-makers that are dealing with security measures on various governmental levels. Existing cases clearly indicate that the model can contribute to a better design and implementation of the security policy and help implement a better allocation of resources and thus potentially improve the effectiveness of security measures. On the other hand, the paper also discusses some limitations and potential future adjustments of the model together with points for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-border cooperation can be an example of a non-hierarchical co-governance tool based on the principle of multi-level governance, which was successfully implemented mainly thanks to European integration as part of building EU territorial cohesion. As a new tool, it has not been limited by the experience of public administration organizations to date, and it is largely based on coopetition aimed at more effective co-management of border regions. Within the framework of this paper, we are exploring the new point of view in the debate on functional cross-border areas. In the first part of the paper, we shall move towards the establishment of multi-level governance (MLG) and re-analyze the adequacy of this concept in line with the general scientific discourse of functional cross-border areas. In the next part, on the basis of desk research and analyses of public policy, the tools and forms for MLG research as well as their implementation were identified and compared on the national and cross-border levels. In the last part of the case study from the Czech-Polish border, we identify the determinants for the organization and implementation of cross-border public services as a basis for defining cross-border areas functional for fire protection in the Jesenik District (CZ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, relatively high attention of public policies, also from the EU point of view, is paid to creative territories and the promotion of the creative class. However, very few published studies have been conducted about the mobility and behaviour of the creative class in the spatial-development context. To contribute to the deeper research of this issue the paper analyses the results of published empirical studies on the behaviour and mobility of the creative class in various types of territories and compares them with the behaviour and location of the creative class in the Slovak Republic. Subsequently, reflecting the key findings it proposes the public policy recommendations that should contribute to attracting and retaining the creative class as an integral driving force of regional or local development. In the empirical studies, the compared elements were the main research questions / hypotheses and results, the definition of the creative class, used methods, the factors of creative-class migration, and the policy recommendations, if they were proposed. Special attention was devoted to the issues of creative-class behaviour and localisation factors in the Slovak Republic based on the previous research findings as well as our own research results. All studies confirm that the mobility of the creative class is only a little bit higher than that of non-creatives. Among the key factors playing a dominant role in the selection of the actual place of residence are personal trajectories, followed by good employment opportunities. That is why the strategies of public policy should aim at retaining the creative class, fostering the creative and diverse climate by developing new higher-education institutions, new creative-subject incubators, supporting networks and partnerships; then the economic and social benefits of the creative class for the territories may be expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has increasingly entered into the Arctic context. For Russia, the Arctic means enormous natural resources and potential for the country's social and economic well-being. The focus of this paper is the dynamics of environmental and Arctic legislation in Russia; attention is also given to the rationale and justification of legal implications of sustainable development in the Russian Arctic. Specifically, it discusses barriers in transitioning to sustainable development and estimates relevant legal tools used over the last three decades applicable to the Arctic territories. The general idea is that despite strong political will to promote sustainable development, Russia's unstable economy has impeded the country's sustainability development objectives. Consequently, resource-based development is prioritized over environmental concerns and puts environmentally fragile territories, like the Arctic, at great risk. The research methods include context analysis of the Russian federal and regional laws and contextual interviews at the federal and regional government levels. The results of the research are the identification of achievements and deficiencies in the rule of law related to sustainable development of the Russian Arctic as well as policy recommendations for public authorities. The paper outlines that as long as Russian legislation lacks specific rules addressing sustainability in the Russian Arctic, it would be difficult for the government to implement international principles of sustainable development across this territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on sustainable public procurement (SPP) and its role in public procurement of the members of the Visegrad Group (Hungarian, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic). Sustainable public procurement is a current trend in public purchasing around the world. The European Union's sustainable development policy, which respects the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, seeks to influence the public procurement policies of the members of the European Union. Every country, including the Visegard Group countries is trying to implement sustainable development criteria in its procurement process and to change legislation. The aim of this paper is to compare the implementation of public procurement in the Czech Republic with other members of the Visegrad Group (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary) and analyse how the public procurement (tenders) respects the criteria of sustainable public procurement in the case of the selected public procurements (tenders) in rail transport. We analyse the public procurement process and investigate the possibility/appropriateness of using social responsibility criteria in the individual phases of the procurement process (award criteria). The results show that there are different methods of implementing SPP in the V4 countries. There are significant differences between the regions. Based on the results of our research and analysis of the selected tenders, we concluded that the principle of social responsibility needs to be reflected in all steps, i.e. in the formulation of the subject of the public contract, the preparation of the contractual terms and the selection of evaluation criteria in their qualitative form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioural interventions, or nudges, can be seen in public policy as a tool to help local governments in a variety of areas. The main advantages of nudges include the low costs associated with their implementation and, on the other hand, the relatively high effect if the factors acting on individuals are correctly identified (e.g., the salience factor associated with the individual's bias, social norms, or how the individual's surroundings react). Before implementing a behavioural intervention, it is necessary to know, the motives or causes of the behaviour of the inhabitants in the city. The paper is specifically devoted to the nudges that can be implemented in the maintenance of public spaces and waste management. The aim of the paper is to find out the attitudes of citizens towards the problems in maintenance of public spaces and waste management caused by human behaviour as well as possible solutions in the form of selected types of nudges. The paper identified several reasons that can contribute to an increase the level of citizen participation in waste separation and improve the quality of maintenance of public spaces, such as where the nudging is implemented (factor of affect), attractiveness of the nudge (factor of silence) and the commitment of individuals. The selected behavioural interventions show that there is a willingness on the part of the citizens in a local municipality to accept nudges and the citizens tendency to change behaviour in the desired way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper puts forward the argument that Performance Measurement Systems (PMSs) foster rational, self-interested behaviour and vested values at all levels within organisations, which weakens moral barriers preventing fraud, fabrication of data and bribery. It argues that the longer a PMS is in operation, the greater the probability that rational self-interested behaviour in conflict with fundamental values and goals will be consolidated, aggravated and disseminated within organisations that operate within public welfare policy. If implemented, common incentives aimed at counteracting undesirable behaviour aggravate and speed up this process rather than reversing it. In a worst-case scenario, PMSs are the first step toward corruption, even though PMSs have been implemented with the good intention of improving public policy and strengthening accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of this text decided to prepare a short article, with the aim to induce further discussion and to orient ongoing and future research efforts in Central and Eastern Europe but also worldwide. The article uses the method of a multi-country case study as the basis for proposing several critical research (and policy) challenges for our region – but many of them of a world-wide character. Four countries are covered by our thumbnail informative sketches – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and the Slovak Republic. The final part of this article proposes a set of questions suggested by the CEE experience with COVID-19 for future research. Such research will both be necessary and interesting for scholarship and policy in the region, and – as a particularly interesting context and area – helpful, one hopes, for questions and answers globally, concerning the pandemic, as well as public administration and policy as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years many important developments have been observed in the Ukrainian public administration: reforms in the public-administration system and civil service, improvements in the regulatory framework for their functioning, extension of the rights and powers of local self-government, bringing their activities into compliance with the EU requirements as well as the transformation of civil service according to the European standards. However, reforming public administration in a post-socialist transition country is hampered by the lack of resources and by public mistrust. The Ukrainian state faces these challenges, as well, and it attempts to find the ways to leave behind the situation formed by decades of uncertain public policy and a flapping development vector. Since 2014 key events have taken place that dramatically affected the public administration in Ukraine, i.e.: the elections of a new president instead of the one who fled, the snap parliamentary elections, establishing new civil and military administrations, launching approximately 60 reforms aiming to give the nation a modern shape corresponding to world-wide trends. Special importance must be granted to the public administration (PA) reform because it plays a crucial role in securing the nation's success in global competition. The goal of this study is reviewing the most important PA reforms occurring in Ukraine (decentralization, civil-service reform, anti-corruption measures, transparency, reviewing the functions of the central executive bodies). The research questions embrace the following: (a) what main directions in PA reforming are perceived by the Ukrainian government; (b) how are the national governmental body's functions reviewed; (c) what are the obstacles and risks for PA reforming at the national level ? To address these questions, the respective legislation has been analyzed along with some practical steps applied by the government towards the improvement of public institutions' operation. Our study demonstrates that Ukraine has moved quite a distance from the soviet legacy as concerns public administration; however, the country has not reached the point of no return yet: the positive reform achievements must be supported by steady efforts in order to make them irreversible and to significantly raise public administration's efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is examining governmental turnover and its impact on the sustainability of public policy in the Palestinian context. We argue that the absence of a clear political program of governments and the absence of clear rules in professional and independent civil service allows Palestinian ministers to politicize the ministries they run, in addition to imposing their personal visions on different administrative levels, which makes the frequent turnover of governments and ministerial faces a challenge to the administrative level's capability to create and implement sustainable public policies. We examined and compared through in-depth interviews the relationship between the political dimension of government formation and its surrounding considerations with the administrative executive dimension in Palestinian conditions. We concluded that professionals from most ministries think that frequent ministerial turnover usually has a negative impact on the sustainability of public policy while only respondents from three ministries stated that turnover could have a positive impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance evaluation of the government agencies seems to be one of the most important issues in modern public administration. The countries with developed economies introduced various performance evaluation models. Th e developing countries also implement instruments to evaluate the government agencies performance. Unlike countries with developed institutional environments, the developing ones very oft en import evaluation models that have been proven in other countries. In that context, our research aimed to understand how the performance evaluation models work in countries with a developing institutional environment. Th e fact is that the performance evaluation of the government agencies shows certain results which present it in a positive way to the public. Unfortunately, these survey results do not adequately cover difficulties and obstacles that appear in the performance evaluation introduction process. In this regard, the perception of the evaluation system by the fi rst-hand (civil servants), as well as the end entities (NGO representatives) of how the introduction of the evaluation institute contributes to improving the eff ectiveness of government agencies need to be analyzed. This article presents an analysis of the impact performance evaluation on performance in government agencies of Kazakhstan through interviews with civil servants (insiders), as they are aware of administrative changes, and representatives of NGO that closely interact with government agencies, so they can really assess the eff ect of changes. Data collected by quantitative and qualitive methods, such as legislative analysis, mass survey, in-depth interviews of civil servants and NGOs, and focus groups. Th e authors took into account all the limitations that are typical for surveys of civil servants in countries with a developing institutional environment (e.g. Nemec et al. 2011). In general, the research results provide a wider understanding of the eff ectiveness of institutional changes when embedding NPM tools into the administrative reforms through a "top-down approach" in emerging economies. Th e results show that the implementation of a new institution (performance evaluation) into the existing structure of formal institutions of the government agencies was accomplished. It was found that implanting a new institution caused, to some extent, a short-term "shock" to the government agencies, as there since previously there were no objective criteria for evaluating their activity. At the same time, performance evaluation is still not unincorporated into the internal management system in government agencies. It is perceived as a redundant imputed data transfer function for external evaluators. For this reason, top management of government agencies does not involve all staff in the process of evaluating and discussing its results. However, employees show interest in participating in these processes. All this once again confirms that the post-Soviet countries are still in networks of past heritage, namely they preserve a centralized bureaucratic system controlled from above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]