The crisis of governance: Government instability and the civil service

The governance capacity of Israeli governments has diminished throughout the years. A variety of large-scale projects have not materialized. Although policy design and long-term planning have progressed fairly well, the same cannot be said for policy implementation. Israel's governments and the civil service continue to face obstacles that hinder the achievement of national goals. The main thesis presented in this article is that government instability coupled with the highly centralized public bureaucracy are the main factors that hinder the capacity to govern. In the next sections we first discuss the problem of inability to govern, and then present the theoretical framework that guides the analysis. Two groups of indicators, for political instability and administrative effectiveness, are used to analyze the complexity of the problem. Subsequent empirical analysis demonstrates the impact of the various indicators on governance crisis. By way of conclusion, several recommendations are advanced to enhance effective governance in Israel.