This book examines the contemporary relevance of the concept of the core executive across a range of constitutional contexts, covering examples from Westminster system, continental Europe, and Scandinavia. Much study of core executives focuses exclusively on the Westminster system, but this book expands that scope to take into account nations where coalition government has been the norm for decades. Focusing on the interaction between the political and administrative executives, the book addresses tensions between the two that have become increasingly apparent in an age of populism and mediatisation.

The study of central government has been dominated by the recurring questions of Prime Ministerial versus Cabinet government and civil service versus ministerial power. Using the idea of 'power dependence' this book challenges these simplicities to provide a definitive assessment of - and introduction to - power and policy at the core of British political life. It undermines traditional approaches by demonstrating that power in the core executive is complex, and flows between actors and institutions. The Prime Minister can only exercise power with the support of the Cabinet, and ministers and officials are often partners rather than competitors.

Why is cabinet government so resilient? Despite many obituaries, why does it continue to be the vehicle for governing across most parliamentary systems? Comparing Cabinets answers these questions by examining the structure and performance of cabinet government in five democracies: the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Australia. The book is organised around the dilemmas that cabinet governments must solve: how to develop the formal rules and practices that can bring predictability and consistency to decision making; how to balance good policy with good politics; how to ensure cohesion between the factions and parties that constitute the cabinet while allowing levels of self-interest to be advanced; how leaders can balance persuasion and command; and how to maintain support through accountability at the same time as being able to make unpopular decisions. All these dilemmas are continuing challenges to cabinet government, never solvable, and constantly reappearing in different forms. Comparing distinct parliamentary systems reveals how traditions, beliefs, and practices shape the answers. There is no single definition of cabinet government, but rather arenas and shared practices that provide some cohesion. Such a comparative approach allows greater insight into the process of cabinet government that cannot be achieved in the study of any single political system, and an understanding of the pressures on each system by appreciating the options that are elsewhere accepted as common beliefs.

This book is concerned with a large question in one small, but highly problematic case: how can a prime minister establish control and coordination across his or her government? The Greek system of government sustains a 'paradox of power' at its very core. The Constitution provides the prime minister with extensive and often unchecked powers. Yet, the operational structures, processes and resources around the prime minister undermine their power to manage the government. Through a study of all main premierships between 1974 and 2009, Prime Ministers in Greece argues that the Greek prime minister has been 'an emperor without clothes'. The costs of this paradox included the inability to achieve key policy objectives under successive governments and a fragmented system of governance that provided the backdrop to Greece's economic meltdown in 2010. Building on an unprecedented range of interviews and archival material, Featherstone and Papadimitriou set out to explore how this paradox has been sustained. They conclude with the Greek system meeting its 'nemesis': the arrival of the close supervision of its government by the 'Troika' - the representatives of Greece's creditors. The debt crisis challenged taboos and forced a self-reflection. It remains unclear, however, whether either the external strategy or the domestic response is likely to be sufficient to make the Greek system of governance 'fit for purpose'.

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 volume has been designed as a key resource in the field of international political leadership research. Written by a team of distinguished leadership scholars from three continents and nine countries, the original chapters gathered in this volume cover all the major fields of political leadership, from executive, legislative and party leadership to leadership in social movements and international organizations. The special value and appeal of this book relates to its genuinely comparative focus that characterizes all chapters.

This book provides an appreciation of the work of renowned scholar Richard Rose. Over a career spanning more than six decades, Rose has explored a vast range of subjects related to British, American and comparative politics. His work, however, has always been concerned with an underlying theme: governing modern societies in changing times. Celebrating Rose's career which has shaped postwar political science in decisive ways, this volume examines issues, debates and lines of research stimulated by his work. Chapters are organized thematically under five headings central to his research: parties and elections, political institutions, public policy, governing at multiple levels, and trust and legitimacy. The book demonstrates that politics cannot be reduced to economics, the actions of individuals, predictive science or functional determinism, but has its own logic and modes of justification. It will appeal to scholars and students of politics, public policy and governance.