CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN THE PERIOD OF POLITICAL TRANSITION (Konflikty interesow a integracja spoleczna okresu transformacji ustrojowej)

The article attempts to identify the most significant areas of conflict in the crucial period of transition of the Lithuanian economy. The author focuses on the conflicts of interests within the administrative field, ignoring those characteristic for the spheres of politics, business or culture. However, he stresses that it is often difficult to precisely distinguish between types of conflicts as the boundaries dividing the particular spheres are vague and overlapping. Importantly, the author points out that the sources of conflict can be found not only among civil servants and public sector staff members, but also among a wide group of stakeholders of public organisations. From the analysis offered in the paper it can be concluded that despite numerous regulatory efforts undertaken by the Lithuanian authorities, corruption indicators and public opinion polls regarding the functioning of state institutions demonstrate that the problem of conflicts of interests is still unresolved. Among the dire consequences of this situation are lack of trust in the government, loss of sense of justice, submission to the rules dictated by more adroit players. This shows that there is a need for further endeavours to eliminate the sources of conflicts of interests.