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MINISTRY of FOREIGN AFFAIRS of the SLOVAK REPUBLIC 6.1 Introduction Compared to Many Other Foreign Ministries, the Ministry of F

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MINISTRY of FOREIGN AFFAIRS of the SLOVAK REPUBLIC 6.1 Introduction Compared to Many Other Foreign Ministries, the Ministry of F CHAPTER SIX MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC As far as diplomacy is concerned, we didn’t know much about it, but we had lots of enthusiasm and took on any task with great verve. At that time, we didn’t care how long we would have to spend at headquarters, and when and where we would eventu- ally be assigned to work abroad. We were happy enough to get a couple of computers installed and we were amazed at T-602—then a miraculous piece of software.1 6.1 Introduction Compared to many other foreign ministries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic (MFA SR) is a young organization, established on January 1, 1993, when Slovakia declared its indepen- dence and became a successor state of Czechoslovakia. The fi rst years of the MFA SR’s operation were characterized by frequent shifts in the political leadership of the organization2 and by logistical instabil- ity. 3 Political change after the parliamentary elections in 1998 brought about a stabilization of the basic axioms of Slovakia’s foreign policy and a consequent effort by the new government to “catch up” with the 1 A Slovak foreign service offi cer describing the situation at the Ministry of Inter- national Relations of the Slovak Republic in early 1991 (quoted in Mojžita 2004:123, author’s translation). T-602 was a rather cumbersome Czechoslovak text-editing program used throughout the Slovak government prior to the general spread of software such as Word Perfect and MS Word in the late 1990s. 2 During the fi rst fi ve years of the Ministry’s operation there was a change on the ministerial post on average more than once a year. Hence, when foreign minister Kukan took offi ce after parliamentary elections in 1998, he was the seventh foreign minister the country had since gaining independence in 1993. It can also be mentioned, that only three times the foreign minister was a career diplomat—Eduard Kukan—serv- ing for some months in 1994, and then for eight years between 1998–2006; and Ján Kubiš since 2006. 3 The headquarters of MFA SR had moved three times between 1993 and 1998, and there was also a number of unresolved issues regarding former Czechoslovak property on embassy compounds abroad. 170 chapter six neighboring Central European countries in the process of integration into the EU and NATO.4 For the MFA SR, which was put in charge of coordinating the “catching up” process, this involved a somewhat one-dimensional focus and drained away most of its organizational resources. What is more, the Ministry also operated in the context of groundbreaking public administration reforms that were about to determine “what kind of a state the Slovak Republic should be”.5 These reforms along with the EU accession process brought about frequent shifts of administrative procedures, routines and standards used by the Slovak governmental organizations in their daily work. In light of these circumstances, the strategic use of IT in support of the Ministry’s operations was awarded meager attention by the senior political leadership during the fi rst ten years of the Ministry’s operation. And yet, IT has been used widely at headquarters and at Slovak missions abroad and numerous innovations were introduced. Effects of IT at MFA SR went hand in hand with the standardization and gradual institutionalization of administrative processes, structures and routines throughout the organization on a global scale, and more generally also hand in hand with the development and introduction of government-wide e-governance practices throughout the governmental administration in Bratislava. The chapter fi rst outlines the institutional characteristics of MFASR. This is followed by a description of its IT infrastructure. As in the previous chapters, effects of IT implementation and use are then discussed in relation to the core organizing principles of diplomacy. Conclusions follow. 6.2 Institutional Background and Characteristics of MFASR Already prior to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, efforts were under way to establish organizational strcutures that would enable the 4 In 1998, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary were about to became members of NATO (in March 1999). Together with Slovenia and Estonia, these countries were also ahead of the rest of the Eastern European countries in the negotiation processes leading to the entry of the EU. 5 Strategy of Public Administration Reform in the Slovak Republic, Plenipotentiary for the Reform of the Public Administration, Government of Slovakia. Bratislava: July 1999, p. 3 (available at http://www.mesa10.sk/vs/index.asp?id=1)..
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