Political Culture as a Determinant Factor in the Performance of the Public Sector in Albania

Abstract

The successful implementation of reforms in public institutions is crucial for a country’s progress. The achievement of these reforms always depends on various factors. One of the most important ones to be considered while evaluating the fulfillment of a reform is culture and mainly the political culture. Culture itself  is a wide concept, yet, authors have tried to give several definitions to it. Nowadays, several authors are trying to connect the concept of culture to the nations’ “performance” in fields like economy, public sector etc. Reforms in the public institutions are mainly needed in those countries that experience transitional political regimes. Albania has changed its political regime since the early 90s, however the reforms on its public insitutions have been quite slow, even though some obvious progress has been made in the 30 years after the fall of communism. Therefore, this study aims to focus in  the role of the political culture of the Albanian society in the performance of the public sector in this country. This study will analyze the concept of political culture by focusing in the characteristics of individual vs collevtist societies and the society’s attitude towards politics and governance, therefore the political culture concept will be used to explain the behavior of the Albanian society towards the “efficiency and effectiveness” of its public institutions.

Received: 4 June 2021 / Accepted: 10 July 2021 / Published: 15 July 2021