Submenu:
The Montesquieu Institute Maastricht was pleased to announce the two-day, international conference: 'Civil Servants and Politics: A Delicate Balance', that was held on 4 and 5 March 2010 in Maastricht.
The relationship between civil servants and politics has always been delicate and it is well-known that the formal dichotomy between the political and administra-tive branch is to a certain extent artificial.
Today’s society brings new challenges for this complex interrelation. Firstly, the growing role of knowledge and exper-tise in the policymaking process has further strengthened the position of the civil service and increased their potential to exert influence on the content, scope and execution of policies formally decided upon by democratically elected politi-cians. Secondly, the emergence of supranational and international bureaucracies as key players in processes of governance raises new challenges for the mutual interaction between civil servants and politicians and our understanding of this intricate relation.
Against this background, this two-day conference examined the role of civil servants in the political arena – a topic that has, for the most part, been eclipsed in both the political and academic debate. Topics ranged from issues such as re-cruitment and career progression to questions of accountability and political rights of civil servants. Speakers included both academics as well as practitio-ners.
The conference was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Maastricht.
For more information, please visit the website of the Montesquieu Institute Maastricht
