Post-Soviet Reforms of Bureaucratic Systems in Slovenia and Lithuania
Zgodovina na Špici / History on the Edge
You are kindly invited to the new event of the History on the Edge series, which will take place on Wednesday, 15 January 2025 at 13:00, at the INZ premises or via ZOOM link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86949706378
The lecture will be given by Remigijus Civinskas, and the title of the lecture is “Post-Soviet Reforms of Bureaucratic Systems in Slovenia and Lithuania.” The lecture will be held in English.
Post-Soviet Reforms of Bureaucratic Systems in Slovenia and Lithuania
Join us for a seminar titled “Post-Soviet Reforms of Bureaucratic Systems: Slovenia and Lithuania,” which will delve into the transformative trajectories of bureaucratic systems in Slovenia and Lithuania following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The first part of the seminar will be a lecture that describes a planned comparative research approach. It will look at post-Soviet reforms through the lenses of structural causality, cultural and bureaucratic legacies, the effects of the EU and other international actors, and changes in institutions. The analysis will explore how historical legacies and contemporary challenges have shaped the administrative landscapes of Slovenia and Lithuania. Employing qualitative and documentary analysis methods, the speaker will highlight both the commonalities and distinctive pathways of these nations as they navigated the post-Soviet transition.
This lecture will also underscore the interdisciplinary approach used in studying these reforms, addressing their strengths and limitations. The discussion will incorporate insights from historians and political scientists to contextualise reforms within broader socio-political dynamics. As part of this initial research presentation, the lecture will critique existing literature and methodologies, offering a platform for reflection on the comparative aspects of Slovenian and Lithuanian reforms.
The lecture will cover topics such as EU accession, historical legacies, the effects of administrative traditions and legalistic culture shaping transformations, managerial ideas on reforms, and similarities and differences in reform trajectories. We will propose a number of questions for discussion at the end of the lecture to encourage active participation and further exploration of the covered topics.
About the lecturer
Since 2001, Remigijus Civinskas has been serving as a lecturer and associate professor of history and public policy in the Department of Public Administration at Vytautas Magnus University. As of 2023, he also holds the position of researcher at the Vytautas Kavolis Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Kaunas, Lithuania. With over fifteen years of experience in public policy and modern history research, he has authored several monographs and numerous scientific articles.
In his doctoral dissertation and later research projects, he looked into Russian bureaucracy and local government systems in great detail. This gave him a lot of knowledge about how systems change and how structural and cultural factors interact. His primary research interests encompass modern and historical bureaucracy, as well as public sector reforms.
The focus on Slovenian bureaucratic reform research was prompted by a desire to investigate and compare the effects of external factors, such as political doctrine, support from international actors, and Europeanization, as well as internal factors, including politicisation, the influence of post-Soviet nomenclature, and cultural traditions. Slovenia is a very interesting case because its path to reform is very different from that of the Baltic states and CEE countries. This shows how these factors affect the change in bureaucracy in a very useful way.