Bureaucracy

The chapter examines both change and continuity in the Italian bureaucracy, taking into account four main aspects. First, the increasing differentiation of the Italian administration due to an attempt to keep up with changes in the national and global economy. Second, the increasing devolution of powers to lower levels of government and to independent administrative agencies in an effort to offload some of the administrative burdens from the central state and to respond to the increasing demand of self-government from the periphery. Third, changes in Italy’s modes of governance to take into account a surging demand of participation from civil society organizations and the need to secure the involvement of multiple levels of government, including the European Union (EU). Fourth, the growing “Europeanization” of the public administration, increasingly called to translate into practice decisions made at European Union level according to EU procedures. The Italian bureaucracy has undergone an almost continuous series of changes without, however, managing to achieve that autonomy and professionalism which would make it into a precious governmental tool.