Processing values, processing reality: applying Yehezkel Dror’s normativeoptimal model to public decision-making in modern Russia

Abstract

The article provides a critical analysis of the current shift towards «value-based management» within the Russian public administration system. The assessment is based on the work of Israeli-American political scientist Yehezkel Dror, whose contributions are not widely recognized among Russian experts. Although Y. Dror’s so-called «normative-optimal» model appears to align with the «value shift» in Russia at the level of individual stages of the political-administrative cycle, the author identifies three key issues hindering the development of public values at the state level: (1) politicians disregarding the need to apply their declared values, primarily to themselves; (2) reliance on biased sociological knowledge resorting to controversial and potentially «formative» formulations; (3) previous failures in cultural policy, which have given rise to a specific from of «value-based self-governance» at the grassroots level.