The politicisation of the public administration has been the subject of considerable debate in Western democracies for at least two centuries. The matter is of particular importance in the eyes of both civil servants and theorists of the state. For the civil servants at the start of twenty-first century, politicisation represents a threat to their professional status and the strategic balance that has gradually been achieved between public administration and politics. For theorists, politicisation implies taking into consideration all dimensions of bureaucratic activity. In fact, public administration is, in a broad sense, political institution. In the paper the author analyses - with the assistance of empirical data - the degree of politicisation of Slovenian public administration, especially from the viewpoint of the latest legislation changes of Civil Service Act. He emphasizes the degree of material politicisation, that is determined by the selection criteria to the political and highest bureaucratic positions.
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