JOS C.N. RAADSCHELDERS is Professor and Henry Bellmon Chair of Public Administration, Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, USA. He also serves as the Managing Editor of the Public Administration Review. THEO A.J. TOONEN is Professor at the Department of Public Administration, and Dean of the College of Social Sciences, University of Leiden, Netherlands. FRITS M. VAN DER MEER is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration, University of Leiden, Netherlands. He is a consultant on the civil service for the OECD.

• Introduction: Civil Service Systems and the Challenges of the 21st Century; J.C.N.Raadschelders, F.M.Van der Meer& T.A.J.Toonen PART I: REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS in CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEMS Civil Service Development in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS: Swimming with the Tide; T.Verheijen& A.Rabrenovic Western Europe Civil Service Systems: A Comparative Analysis; F.M.Van der Meer, T.Steen& A.Wille Anglo-American Systems: Easy Diffusion; J.Halligan Explaining Civil Service Reform in Asia; J.Burns Africa: Rehabilitating Civil Service Institutions, Main Issues and Implementation Progress; L.Adamolekun PART II: CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEMS AS MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE National Civil Service Systems and the Implications of Multi-Level Governance: Weberianism Revisited?; C.van den Berg& T.A.J.Toonen Historical Legacies and Dynamics of Institutional Change in Civil Service Systems; P.Bezes& M.Lodge Public Service Systems at Sub National and Local Levels of Government: A British-German-French Comparison; S.Kuhlmann& J.Bogumil Middle Level Bureaucrats: Policy, Discretion and Control; E.Page Reforming Human Resource Management in Civil Service Systems: Recruitment, Mobility, and Representativeness; L.Wise& P.Lægreid PART III: CIVIL SERVANTS AND LEGALITY, EFFICIENCY, AND RESPONSIVENESS Law and Management: Comparatively Assessing the Reach of Judicialization; R.Christensen& C.Wise The Constitutional Responsibility of the Civil Service; J.Rohr Civil Service Systems and Responsibility, Accountability and Performance: A Multi-Dimensional Approach; G.Dijkstra Governance and Civil Service Systems: From Easy Answers to Hard Questions; B.G.Peters& J.Pierre PART IV: CIVIL SERVANTS IN THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT Is Past Prologue to 21st Century Civil Service Systems? Exploring Historical Frames for Discovering Lessons about Institutional Futures; R.Stillman II Political-Administrative Relations; L.Rouban Political System Reform: Can Administrative Reform Succeed Without?; J.C.N.Raadschelders&M.Bemelmans-Videc CONCLUSION Civil Servants in the Enabling Framework State of the 21st Century; J.C.N.Raadschelders, F.M.van der Meer& T.A.J.Toonen