A comprehensive and comparative analysis of who advises government and how systems of policy advice operate in four Westminster countries.

This book explores how the governmental elites in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa understand their Westminster system. It examines in detail four interrelated features of Westminster systems. Firstly, the increasing centralisation in collective, responsible cabinet government. Second, the constitutional convention of ministerial and collective responsibility. Third, the role of a professional, non-partisan public service. And finally, parliament's relationship to the executive. The authors explain the changes that have occured in the Westminster model by analysing four traditions: royal prerogative, responsible government, constitutional bureaucracy, and representative government. They suggest that each tradition has a recurring dilemma, between centralisation and decentralisation, party government and ministerial responsibility, professionalisation and politicisation, and finally elitism and participation. They go on to argue that these dilemmas recur in four present-day debates: the growth of prime ministerial power, the decline in individual and collective ministerial accountability, politicisation of the public service, and executive dominance of the legislature. They conclude by identifying five meanings of - or narratives about - Westminster. Firstly, 'Westminster as heritage' - elite actors' shared governmental narrative understood as both precedents and nostalgia. Second, 'Westminster as political tool' - the expedient cloak worn by governments and politicians to defend themselves and criticise opponents. Third, 'Westminster as legitimising tradition' - providing legitimacy and a context for elite actions, serving as a point of reference to navigate this uncertain world. Fourth, 'Westminster as institutional category' - it remains a useful descriptor of a loose family of governments with shared origins and characteristics. Finally, 'Westminster as an effective political system' - it is a more effective and efficient political system than consensual parliamentary governments. Westminster is a flexible family of ideas that is useful for many purposes and survives, even thrives, because of its meaning in use to élite actors.

Political advisors have risen in significance in Westminster countries, and have been increasingly thrust into the limelight by headline scandals and through their characterisation in various television series. This increased prominence has led to greater scrutiny of their role and influence. This book demonstrates that the introduction of political advisors into the structure of the executive has led to the erosion of the Westminster doctrine of ministerial responsibility. Adopting a comparative approach, the book analyses the rise in the power and significance of political advisors in the Westminster jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It shows the fundamental shift of the locus of power from the neutral public service to highly political and partisan ministerial advisors. Tracing the divergent paths for legal and political regulation of political advisors, Yee-Fui Ng illuminates the tensions that they pose within the Westminster system in terms of the media/politics and faction/opposition interfaces. Providing insights for those researching or engaged in politics and public administration, this work will interest scholars and students of politics and public law, policy and administration.

Making a significant, novel contribution to the burgeoning international literature on the topic, this Handbook charts the various methodological, theoretical, comparative and empirical dimensions of a future research agenda on ministerial and political advisers.

This book examines the impact of several decades of public sector reform in four Westminster systems – Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Political and managerial change has re-defined roles and relationships and how their public sectors function. Often this occurs in comparable ways because of a common administrative tradition, but choices made in different country contexts also produce divergent outcomes. In analysing the results and implications of reform, fundamental issues of and tensions in public administration and management are addressed.

Citizens have lost trust in their institutions of public governance. In trying to fix the problem, presidents and prime ministers have misdiagnosed the patient, failing to recognize that government bureaucracies are inseparable from political institutions. As a result, career officials have become adroit at managing the blame game but much less so at embracing change. Donald Savoie looks to the United States, Great Britain, France, and Canada to assess two of the most important challenges confronting governments throughout the Western world: the concentration of political power and the changing role of government bureaucracy. The four countries have distinct institutions shaped by distinct histories, but what they have in common is a professional non-partisan civil service. When presidents and prime ministers decide to expand their personal authority, national institutions must adjust while bureaucracies grow to fill the gap, paradoxically further constricting government efficacy. The side effects are universal – political power is increasingly centralized; Parliament, Congress, and the National Assembly have been weakened; Cabinet has lost standing; political parties have been debased; and civil services have been knocked off their moorings. Reduced responsibility and increased transparency make civil servants slow to take risks and politicians quick to point fingers. Government astutely diagnoses the problem of declining trust in government: presidents and prime ministers have failed to see that efficacy in government is tied to well-performing institutions.

This book explores accountability from a range of perspectives, crossing traditional disciplinary, thematic, and professional boundaries. It asks fresh questions about accountability and its place and importance in democratic societies. Accountability matters. It matters because it connects the governors with the governed, and for this reason it is a hallmark of democratic governance. And yet, amidst a backdrop of concerns about democratic back-sliding, the rise of populism, the role of algorithmic governance, moral barbarism, and post-truth politics - to mention just a few issues - a number of potentially far-reaching questions of accountability have been asked. It is for exactly this reason that this book explores the concept of accountability from a range of perspectives, crossing traditional disciplinary, thematic, and professional boundaries. It asks fresh questions about accountability and its place and importance in democratic societies. The book considers the questions raised by the shifting architecture of accountability. Whilst some scholars suggest that accountability processes have never been so effective -trumpeting the rise of monitory democracy with its dense array of watchdogs, sleaze-busters, auditors, legislative committees, statutory supports, and investigative mechanisms - others express concern about the risk of 'overloads', 'gaps', and 'traps'. This has led to a focus on fuzzy accountability and diagonal accountability, pointing to increasing conceptual confusion. Bringing together world-leading scholars and former politicians and public servants, the book cuts through this confusion and provides the reader with the answers to the most debated issues, including rarely discussed 'pathologies of accountability', post-human governance, and a novel focus on balance and proportionality.

New Zealand Government and Politics , now in its fourth edition, is the leading undergraduate textbook for students of New Zealand political science. It provides an overview of the context, key institutions and processes, written by leading academics and non-academics. This fully revised and refreshed edition has 22 new chapters including an anlysis of the 2005 election.

This report presents the results of an assessment of the organisation of the central government of Denmark. The study looks at reforms that are aimed at improving the quality of services (more value) and efficiency (less money) in central government. Starting with facts and quantitative benchmarks on the Danish central government, the study reviews recent reforms in Denmark, and makes recommendations in ten selected areas. The study concludes with a survey of the effects on the quality of services and the potential savings.

Revised edition of a comprehensive guide to the Australian political system, first published in 1985. This second edition explains, compares and contrasts different models of the Australian political system, as well as covering topics such as parties and the electoral system, cabinet, responsible party government and the Westminster model. Includes a copy of the Australian constitution and an index. Published simultaneously in paperback.