networks with non state her actors and has certainly led to some improvement in the quality on the services associated with public administration. Although still to early assess, topdown and horizontal Europeanization process, particulary since the late 1990s, may have contributed to a more reflexive approach in moving towards a more endogenous strategic vision based on the needs of the Portuguese state and public administration. - Reproduced. Portugal has been characterized by a late discontinuous democratization process.This contribution discusses the case of state and public administration reform in Protugal by using approaches from democratization, moderinization and Europeanization theories. In order to understand the Portuguese case, the concept of 'neo-Patrimonalism' is used. We characterize Portuguese public administration as still having 'neo-patrimonial' features, and therefore still in transition from old closed-minded practice such as particularistic decision making clientlistic relationship to new open minded ones. The 'new' governance agenda combines new public management instrument and a growing flexibization of public administration