- Chisinau, Chisinau, Moldova, Republic of
“The state plays a significant role in human development” (Toritsyn 2010). The state and in particular its administration is the key actor in creating an environment that enables people to life long and healthy lives, to become educated... more
“The state plays a significant role in human development” (Toritsyn 2010). The state and in particular its administration is the key actor in creating an environment that enables people to life long and healthy lives, to become educated and work in a sustainable environment. A weak state can seriously impede the potential of its people. A strong state can empower people and ensure that poverty, segregation, and a lack of participation is overcome. Moldova has been described as a particularly weak state with a highly inefficient system of governance (Carasciuc 2001). This paper explores some of the aspects of weak administrative governance in Moldova and puts those into the context of human development. Its aim is to point to the detrimental effects of weak state capacity and ineffective governance on the lives of the Moldovan people and to reinforce the importance of discovering innovative and better ways to build sustainable state institutions and capacities.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
By utilizing the theoretical insights of the garbage can model, isomorphism and organizational learning, this paper brings forward the argument that Twinning projects are based on an inherent contradiction between their formal framework... more
By utilizing the theoretical insights of the garbage can model, isomorphism and organizational learning, this paper brings forward the argument that Twinning projects are based on an inherent contradiction between their formal framework and their potential to create mutual learning. By posting an external administrator into a beneficiary administration, Twinning enables a cooperative process, affecting the perceptions and roles of the project, the actors involved and the beneficiary administration over time. In contrast, the formal Twinning framework establishes outputs upfront and puts formal constraints on deliberation during implementation. The essay argues that what may be learnt during Twinning projects may not be translated into formal project outputs and therefore get lost. Insights from a set of interviews with 20 Twinning participants in the Republic of Moldova are used to ground the theoretical insights. The paper particularly aims to contribute to discussions on administrative reform in developing countries and the effects of the European Neighborhood Policy, particularly in relation to the “normative power Europe” debate.