Linn A. Hammergren - Böcker

This book addresses the problems of administrative reform in Third World countries by examining recent reform efforts in Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. Dr. Hammergren discusses the politics of administrative change and the interaction of the political and technical dimensions of reform in the three countries. The failure of many reform programs, she suggests, can be traced to their conception primarily in technical terms; the neglect of the political dimension encourages a division between the interests dominating the technical, planning stages and the groups needed for implementation. In the case of Third World programs, this division is further aggravated by the impact of external actors on the power base and orientation of national reform planners. While international support helped establish reform programs in the three countries studied, it also dissuaded planners from building ties with other national groups and from broadening and intensifying their political bases. Dr. Hammergren explores the sources of program content in the case studies and the notion of reform success or failure and examines alternative strategies for designing reform programs. Her emphasis is on identifying political, programmatic, and organizational variables that can be manipulated to enhance program implementation and effectiveness.

This book addresses the problems of administrative reform in Third World countries by examining recent reform efforts in Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. It discusses the politics of administrative change and the interaction of the political and technical dimensions of reform in the three countries.

This book explores the objectives pursued in donor programs, the methods used to advance them, and the underlying assumptions and strategies. It emphasizes the unexpected and sometimes unpleasant consequences of ignoring not only political and societal constraints but also advances in our technical approaches to performance improvement, the one area where the First World has a comparative advantage. The geographic scope of the work is broad, incorporating examples from Eastern and Central Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region as well as from several First World nations. Justice Reform and Development examines First World assistance to justice or "rule of law" reforms in developing and transitional societies, arguing that its purported failure is vastly exaggerated, largely because of unrealistic expectations as to what could be accomplished. Change nonetheless is needed if the programs are to continue and would be best based on targeting specific performance problems, incorporation of donor countries’ experience with their own reforms, and greater attention to relevant research. While contributing to an on-going debate among practitioners and academics involved in justice programs, this book will also be accessible to readers with little exposure to the topics, especially advanced undergraduate and graduate students in law, political science and areas studies.