Year of Award

2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Name

Interdisciplinary Studies

Department or School/College

Interdisciplinary Studies Program

Committee Chair

Jonathan R. Tompkins

Commitee Members

Eric Hines, Dusten R. Hollist, Peter Koehn, William P. McCaw

Keywords

Authoritarianism, Democracy, Educational curriculum, Political development, Principles of public administration, State formation

Abstract

Since freeing itself from the autocratic control of the former Communist regime, the republic of Tajikistan has confronted numerous problems of underdevelopment which threaten to sink the republic in a new wave of authoritarianism and misery. Implementing democratic reforms aimed at modernizing a developing country requires a cadre of competent and professionally trained public administrators who understand and are committed to basic democratic values and sound administrative principles. Unfortunately, such a cadre does not now exist in Tajikistan and no educational program has yet been introduced to develop such a cadre. The answer does not lie in attempting to transfer a model of public service education developed in a liberal democracy such as the United States to a still-developing country such as Tajikistan. It is for this reason that the presented study seeks to develop options for educational curriculum for public administrators in Tajikistan that is simultaneously well suited to the unique characteristics of Tajikistan's social and political institutions and the special challenges faced by developing countries in general.

It is expected that the results of the study will have significant positive impacts as Tajikistan seeks to develop its capacities and transition successfully from autocracy to democracy. It is hoped that the options for educational curricula developed in this study will encourage Tajikistan's national universities to implement graduate level degree programs in public administration. Tajikistan will benefit from the study in the short-term through the development of its human capital and in the long-term through the study's contribution to the establishment of democracy, greater economic prosperity, and greater personal security for its citizens. If prospective public administrators can be well-trained in the best practices of public administration, the positive impacts for society will be truly significant.

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© Copyright 2012 Oleg Salimov