Abstract
<p> Public administration is under enormous pressure to reform. The question of whether we need a "new state" reflects a profound transformation of the entire political and administrative system. Demographic change, digitalization and the increasing complexity of fulfilling governmental tasks demand an administration that is efficient, adaptable, resilient, and citizen-oriented. The conference "Do We Need a New State? Administrative Reforms Between Demographic Change, Bureaucracy Reduction, and Digitalization," held in Halberstadt in September 2025, addressed these challenges in their entirety. The contributions gathered here document the current state of the academic discussion and present concrete reform approaches, innovations, and strategic perspectives for a future-proof administration. <bold>With contributions by</bold> Prof. Dr. Thomas Barthel | Prof. Dr. Christian Bauer | Prof. Dr. Joachim Beck | Prof. Dr. Tim Brockmann | Hannes Bruchholz | Prof. Dr. Thomas Deelmann | Prof. Dr. Dr. Frank Drzensky | Dr. Mandy Ebers | Dr. Klaus Effing | Prof. Dr. Marion Effing | Prof. Dr. Annegret Eppler | Prof. Dr. Gisela Färber | Maximilian Fischer | Prof. Dr. Albrecht von Graevenitz | Arno Heinen | Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Ralf Bernd Herden | Prof. Dr. Hermann Hill | Prof. Dr. Elmar Hinz | Prof. Dr. Beatrice Hurrle | Prof. Dr. Ilka Klöckner | Prof. Dr. Angela Kolb | Prof. Dr. Erik Kraatz | Andreas Lenk | Prof. Dr. Robert Nadler | Prof. Dr. Felix Neumann | Prof. Dr. Jörg Röber | Arne Rörtgen | Christian Sander | Prof. Dr. Andreas Schmid | Prof. Dr. Christoph Schmidt | Prof. Dr.-Ing. Marcus Schmidt | Merle Sperling | Lena Steinel | Prof. Dr. Jürgen Stember | Sarah Stenhorst | Nathalie Schwarzgor | Prof. Dr. Claudia Trippel | Christian Ulmitz | Ulla Walther | Prof. Dr. Stefan Zahrradnik | Berenice Freiin Heereman von Zuydtwyck </p>