New public management in Cyprus: introduction, adoption and implementation of NPM, the relationship between the public and private sector

This thesis is a study of public sector reform in the context of economic crisis. The thesis examines the introduction of new management practices to the Cyprus civil service, with the aim of understanding the role of various actors, internal and external to Cyprus, in influencing the policy agenda. Based on semi-structured interviews with key players, the research captures a civil service at the point of transition. The government of Cyprus has been under pressure to introduce reforms since joining the European Union in 2004. Nevertheless, political and social factors have made previous attempts to reduce civil service staffing and introduce practices influenced by ‘New Public Management’ (NPM) have been unsuccessful. The current programme of reforms, by contrast, have resulted from coercive influence of the ‘Troika’ following the economic crisis, which has added weight to an existing tendency towards normative isomorphism. The research finds a recognition of the desirability of ‘modernisation’ amongst policy-makers, civil service managers and trade unionists alike. This finding, which might be surprising in other national contexts, may be explained by the island’s historical legacy of political patronage and clientelism. NPM initiatives are regarded as being beneficial, overall. This, in turn, suggests a reappraisal of the nature of bureaucracy in Cyprus, which would indicate that it has not lived up to its reputation for being meritocratic and impartial, and is regarded by the actors as a barrier to progress.