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.

Title first published in 2003. Westminster Abbey occupies a unique position in the religious and royal landscape of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. As the scene of coronations and other great public occasions, it has been the continuing focus of the nation's religious life for half the Christian era. Yet the building itself would not have survived the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation had the institution running it not been itself 'reformed' from monastery into collegiate church. These nine studies discuss ways in which Westminster's new corporate structure evolved in the first century of its existence, and look at some of the personalities who played a part in that process. New research, much of it in the Abbey's own rich archive, opens up previously unseen views of this great church's internal affairs, its relationship with the Crown, and its place in its own locality.

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.

The recent resurgence of interest in the Puritan John Owen has resulted in increasing requests for Kelly Kapic's Communion with God, which was one of the books that helped foster renewed attention on this classic theologian. This book is now back in print with a new preface by the author. According to Kapic, a variety of people today are rediscovering Owen, including academic theologians, ministers from different denominational backgrounds, and laypeople interested in classic forms of spirituality. With this diverse audience in mind, Kapic focuses on the concept of communion with God in Owen's thought, covering key areas such as anthropology, Christology, trinitarian studies, and the Lord's supper. Kapic shows that Owen remains a rich dialogue partner for those engaged both in contemporary theology and pastoral practice.

The Oxford Handbook of Australian Politics is a comprehensive collection that considers Australia's distinctive politics— both ancient and modern— at all levels and across many themes. It examines the factors that make Australian politics unique and interesting, while firmly placing these in the context of the nation's Indigenous and imported heritage and global engagement. The book presents an account of Australian politics that recognizes and celebrates its inherent diversity by taking a thematic approach in six parts. The first theme addresses Australia's unique inheritances, examining the development of its political culture in relation to the arrival of British colonists and their conflicts with First Nations peoples, as well as the resulting geopolitics. The second theme, improvization, focuses on Australia's political institutions and how they have evolved. Place-making is then considered to assess how geography, distance, Indigenous presence, and migration shape Australian politics. Recurrent dilemmas centres on a range of complex, political problems and their influence on contemporary political practice. Politics, policy, and public administration covers how Australia has been a world leader in some respects, and a laggard in others, when dealing with important policy challenges. The final theme, studying Australian politics, introduces some key areas in the study of Australian politics and identifies the strengths and shortcomings of the discipline. The Oxford Handbook of Australian Politics is an opportunity for others to consider the nation's unique politics from the perspective of leading and emerging scholars, and to gain a strong sense of its imperfections, its enduring challenges, and its strengths.

This text explores how governmental elites understand the Westminster systems of Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. It concludes that Westminster is a flexible family of ideas that is useful for many purposes and survives and, even thrives, because of its varied uses to elite actors.