外文文献翻译东南亚公共行政改革趋势和影响..doc

Reforming Public Administration in Southeast Asia: Trends and Impacts M. SHAMSUL HAQUE polhaque@nus.edu.sg Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore Key words: public service reform, current trend, major impact, Southeast Asia Abstract: In Southeast Asia, the recent two decades have witnessed major theoretical, structural, functional, and ethical reforms in the administrative system. In the region, the state-centric mode of public administration that emerged during the colonial and postcolonial periods, has recently been transformed into a businesslike public management in line with the current global movement for such a transition. This article examines the trends of administrative changes in countries such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It also briefly evaluates the critical impacts of these recent changes on the systems of public administration and the conditions of citizens and societies in the region. Introduction There is a relative absence of critical academic discourse on public administration in Southeast Asia. The existing literature mostly covers the empirical illustrations and simple descriptions of the prevailing administrative systems and periodic administrative changes adopted by various governments in the region. There is hardly any debate on the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of such administrative systems and reforms. On the other hand, most of these administrative systems and their changes have been imitative of those found in Western capitalist nations. The administrative systems in Southeast Asia not only represent the past colonial legacies—e.g., the British tradition in Malaysia and Singapore, the Dutch system in Indonesia, and the American pattern in the Philippines—they have also been changed during the postcolonial period based on the recent reform experiences of Western nations. During this post-independence period, except for commu