Greek attempts to carry out public service reform offer an important opportunity to test theories of public policy change

Greece has been required to implement public service reforms as part of the agreement made with other eurozone countries and the IMF to receive financial aid during its debt crisis. Stella Ladi argues that the reform process offers an important opportunity to test theoretical models of public policy change. Adopting a model based partly on historical institutionalism, she assesses the idea that large scale reform is more likely to take place at a ‘critical juncture’, such as the present crisis. While the reform process has been initiated externally by other countries, the success of reforms will be determined by the domestic situation within Greece itself.