Separation vs Harmonization: A comparative study of civil service legal arrangements in Europe

Abstract

In this article, we focus on the perspective of employment security and professional and ethical norms relating to political neutrality and integrity: major issues across various European countries over past decades. Moreover, we analyse the centrality of employment security, connecting the idea of bargains to discourse on managerialist Human resources management (HRM) arrangements, and flexibility in the personnel system. In addition, we address the essential question of the degree to which civil servants should enjoy a more protected employment position than employees in the private domain.