‘From ménage à trois back to pas de deux? Ministerial advisers, civil servants and the contest of policy ideas’
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Date
2020-03-02
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Public Policy Association
Rights
The Author(s) CC BY 4.0
Abstract
The institutionalization of the role of ministerial advisers in most parliamentary democracies has transformed what was once à pas de deux between ministers and senior civil servants into a ménage à trois. This article assesses the impact of ministerial advisers on the contest of policy ideas. It makes a theoretical case for paying closer attention to this issue than has thus far been the case, and assesses civil servants’ perceptions of advisers’ influence on contestability. The core conclusion, which is at variance with much of the scholarship on ministerial advisers, is that advisers pose a greater threat to policy contestability than to civil service impartiality.
Description
Keywords
contestability, core executive, ministerial advisers, political advisers, politicization
Citation
International Review of Public Policy, 2020