The political upheavals of this period on a global scale, particularly the initial measures taken by the new government of the USA, bring the concept of “bureaucracy” back into focus. This concept refers to the independence of an institution’s administrative processes from the goals of the social groups that established it to achieve their intended purposes. When an institution’s administration becomes autonomous, it can lead to increased privileges for administrators. This shift may result in significant economic resources being diverted from their original social purposes to support the administration’s interests. As is immediately apparent, the dominance of such conditions in the administration of institutional practices reduces the economic efficiency of their mandated social objectives in favour of the interests of their administrative groups.

The terms “bureaucracy” and “bureaucratic mechanisms” were widely used in the criticism made by sociologists and political thinkers regarding the way state administration was conducted by regimes imposed in Eastern Europe after the October Revolution of 1917 or following the end of World War II. According to this criticism, party mechanisms formed an extensive system for advancing the interests of this group, which were significantly different from the interests of society as a whole. The ultimate result of this divergence of interests was the economic collapse of these countries, due in part to the widespread withdrawal of genuine willingness to participate in the advancement of state objectives by a large percentage of their populations.

According to sociological approaches, such phenomena stem from human nature itself and the extension of the instinct of self-preservation, which, when exercising power in public institutions, seeks to maximise personal gain. These tendencies can be balanced in two ways: through education and strong legislation. The first, if it has a generalised humanistic character, leads to models that balance individual and social interests—both in terms of improving the quality of life and through the increased economic outcomes produced by coordinated social actions. The second can, through the establishment of institutional counterweights, prevent the dominance of bureaucratic mechanisms or even create mechanisms of social control in every societal expression. Social control mechanisms emerge where nuclei of active citizens form, i.e., groups of individuals with social consciousness who are driven to resist the bureaucratisation of institutions and to create de facto organisational structures. These structures, through the increased social pressure they generate, can eventually be institutionalised.

A broad field for the dominance of bureaucratic mechanisms is found in administrative organisations managing financial resources, where individuals or groups with long-term tenures oversee their management. A crucial factor in limiting this phenomenon is the institutionalisation of decentralised institutional expressions since the actions of their administrative bodies are more accessible to the citizens within their jurisdiction. Local government organisations fall into this category because of the regularly scheduled electoral processes that determine the political figures responsible for their administration and financial management. Additionally, the close proximity between the governed and governing creates another positive factor for effective interventions by groups of active citizens within their area of jurisdiction. The primary goal of these interventions in combating the bureaucratic approach to handling affairs by elected and service officials is the broad publication of data.

In this direction, the progress made in computer science offers the opportunity for substantial public information and pressure for the revitalisation of initiatives such as “Diavgeia” (Transparency), which, over time, have been stripped of their original essential content as it was defined in the explanatory report accompanying the voting of the relevant law in Parliament (Peponis Law). A similar hollowing-out process has affected most websites maintained by local government organisations. Either they contain minimal information, or they serve as platforms for showcasing spectacular aspects of these organisations’ activities. These websites could become key tools for genuine information regarding financial management by publishing all financial data, fully describing ongoing projects, and providing detailed breakdowns of expenditures at each phase and by region. In this way, social control would become meaningful and would help combat tendencies toward the bureaucratisation of social affairs before their manifestation, through self-restraint.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD