The project described here raises the question: How do citizens view their interactions with officials in various post-communist countries? In particular, what kinds of 'unfair' treatment do people complain about? Do they have personal experience of unfair treatment or are they simply repeating hearsay and gossip? Do people think the change from communism to democracy made things better or worse? What strategies do they adopt when dealing with officials? Is there resentment of flexible behaviour by officials or is it regarded as a useful facility? Finally, what changes, given the chance, would they make to improve interaction between citizen and state

Managed by University of Glasgow researchers, the project is situated across Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and consists of four stages: focus group discussions and in-depth interviews (both in Autumn 1996), mass surveys among the public (Autumn 1997) and surveys of officials (due in early 1998). Findings so far indicate that:

• there is a high level of distrust towards junior officials in all countries except the Czech Republic
• people everywhere seem remarkably willing to discuss the use of presents, bribes and contacts
• by their own accounts, people in the Czech Republic tend to give officials small presents after their case has been settled, mostly as voluntary expression of thanks
• in Bulgaria, Ukraine and also to some extent in Slovakia, people give presents (and more often money) to officials before an issue is settled, and often at the initiative of the official: they view it as extortion
• use of contacts were also mentioned frequently in all countries
• in Slovakia, Bulgaria and Ukraine people say the use of presents and bribes to influence officials has actually increased since the collapse of Communism
• the use of presents and bribes are defined as a problem, not a facility: people make proposals to improve the situation
• people do believe change is possible, but do not expect it to come quickly.

Solutions prescribed in the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were:

• to better the quality of the officials (in other words, to make them more competent)
• to provide officials with better pay and bigger budgets
• to strengthen control over officials, both by their superiors and by elected representatives
• to improve administrative efficiency
• to develop better legal frameworks
• to improve appeal procedures and simplify request settling procedures.

Source(s):
1. How citizens cope with postcommunist officials: evidence from focus group discussions in Ukraine and the Czech Republic, W. L. Miller, T. Koshechkina and A. Grodeland, Political Studies, Vol. 45, No. 3, Special Issue 1997, pp. 597-625.
2. Alternative strategies for coping with officials in different postcommunist regimes: the worm's eye view',A.Grodeland et al., Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 17, 983.1-18, 1997 (in press).
3. Dealing with Officials, W. L. Miller et al., NISPAcee news, Vol. IV, No. 2, June 1997, pp. 3-5.

Funded by: Department for International Development, UK, 1996-1998) ; Economic and Social Research Council, UK, 1997-1998)

id21 Research Highlight: 1997-Dec-01

Further Information:
W.L. Miller (Project Director), T. Koshechkina, A.B. Grodeland
Department of Politics
University of Glasgow
Adam Smith Building
Glasgow G12 8RT
Scotland
UK

Tel: + 44 (0)141 330 4680
Fax: + 44 (0)141 330 5071
Contact the contributor: w.l.miller@socsci.gla.ac.uk

Department of Politics, University of Glasgow