Local self-government and government administration – administration in conditions of uncertainty

Abstract

The year 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, has become a symbol of sudden threats that fundamentally change social and economic life. However, the pandemic is only one example of the new accumulating uncertainties, such as climate change, which are strongly affecting the public administration system. The aim of the study is to answer the question of what kind of public administration system and what legal forms of action will contribute to increasing the resistance of the State to shocks, and fostering greater flexibility of its administration. Three approaches will be presented that have their supporters in the legal sciences, namely: a centralized state that only expands expert and advisory structures in order to counter threats; a minimal state, in which the network of interaction with citizens, business entities and the administration is mainly strengthened, being one that conducts limited crisis management activities; and, lastly, the concept of a cooperative system of central and local government administration modules, with local self-government having a high level of independence, good coordination, and openness to social innovation. The author advocates the choice of the third model to create a flexible, shock-resistant state, showing the advantages of such a solution and the weaknesses of the first model, towards which the current recentralization is striving.