Ministers, Minders and Mandarins: An International Study of Relationships at the Executive Summit of Parliamentary Democracies

Description

Ministers, Minders and Mandarins brings together the leading academics in this specialty to rigorously assess the impact and consequences of political advisers in parliamentary democracies. The ten contemporary and original case studies focus on issues of tension, trust and tradition, and are written in an accessible and engaging style. Using new empirical findings and theory from a range of public policy canons, the authors analyse advisers' functions, their differing levels of accountability and issues of diversity between governments. Cases include research on the tensions in the UK, the possible unease in Swedish government offices and the role of trust in Greece. Established operations in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand are compared to relative latecomers to advisory roles, such as Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. A key comparative work in the field, this book encourages further research into the varied roles of political advisers. Offering an excellent introduction to the complex role political advisers play, this book will be of great interest to upper undergraduate and postgraduate students studying political science and policy administration, as well as researchers and scholars in public policy. Contents List of figures and tables List of contributors 1 Introduction: ministers, minders and mandarins • Richard Shaw and Chris Eichbaum 2 Australia: applying an institutional lens to political staff • Maria Maley 3 Canada: flexing the political arm of government • Jonathan Craft 4 Denmark: loyalty and the political adviser bargain • Peter Munk Christiansen and Heidi Houlberg Salomonsen 5 Germany: the smooth and silent emergence of advisory roles • Thurid Hustedt 6 Greece: political advisers and circles of trust in Greek ministerial cabinets: cardinals of the conclave, managers and the children of favouritism • Athanassios Gouglas 7 Ireland: steps towards a political coordination role for ministerial advisers • Bernadette Connaughton 8 The Netherlands: the emergence and encapsulation of ministerial advisers • Caspar van den Berg 9 New Zealand: bargains, compacts and covenants in the core executive • Richard Shaw and Chris Eichbaum 10 Sweden: civil servants and political advisers as adversaries • Birgitta Niklasson and Patrik Öhberg 11 Special advisers in the United Kingdom: tensions in Whitehall • Andrew Blick 12 Conclusion: new directions in studying ministerial advisers • Richard Shaw and Chris Eichbaum Index