This comparative collection of original contributions examines the role of political staff in executive government and the consequences for policy-making and governance. The leading contributors reveal that good governance is about governments getting the advice that they need to hear as well as the advice that they want to hear. They highlight the importance of ensuring that the advice is appropriately responsive to the policy priorities of the government of the day. In countries such as the United States, and in some European democracies, political appointments to senior administrative positions are not a new development. However, in recent years a third element the political adviser has also become a feature of policy-making and political management in Westminster-styled systems. This authoritative work seeks to illuminate the drivers behind the advent of political staff in executive government, and the consequences for policy-making and governance. This unique book includes case studies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Academics and postgraduates researching in public administration and management as well as political science will find this book invaluable. Policymakers in agencies responsible for public service leadership will also find much to interest them in this important book.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many questioned whether the large number of political appointees in the Federal Emergency Management Agency contributed to the agency's poor handling of the catastrophe, ultimately costing hundreds of lives and causing immeasurable pain and suffering. The Politics of Presidential Appointments examines in depth how and why presidents use political appointees and how their choices impact government performance--for better or worse. One way presidents can influence the permanent bureaucracy is by filling key posts with people who are sympathetic to their policy goals. But if the president's appointees lack competence and an agency fails in its mission--as with Katrina--the president is accused of employing his friends and allies to the detriment of the public. Through case studies and cutting-edge analysis, David Lewis takes a fascinating look at presidential appointments dating back to the 1960s to learn which jobs went to appointees, which agencies were more likely to have appointees, how the use of appointees varied by administration, and how it affected agency performance. He argues that presidents politicize even when it hurts performance--and often with support from Congress--because they need agencies to be responsive to presidential direction. He shows how agency missions and personnel--and whether they line up with the president's vision--determine which agencies presidents target with appointees, and he sheds new light on the important role patronage plays in appointment decisions.

The Plum Book is published by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Committee on Oversight and Reform alternately after each Presidential election. The Plum Book is used to identify Presidential appointed and other positions within the Federal Government. The publication lists over 9,000 Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment. The duties of many such positions may involve advocacy of Administration policies and programs and the incumbents usually have a close and confidential working relationship with the agency head or other key officials. The Plum Book was first published in 1952 during the Eisenhower administration. When President Eisenhower took office, the Republican Party requested a list of government positions that President Eisenhower could fill. The next edition of the Plum Book appeared in 1960 and has since been published every four years, just after the Presidential election.

Viewers of The Thick of It will know of special advisers as spin doctors and political careerists. Several well-known ministers have been special advisers, among them David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Jack Straw and Vince Cable. People also know about the public relations disasters involving Jo Moore, Damian McBride and Adam Smith. But what is the reality? What do special advisers actually do in government? Who are they, where do they come from, and why are they needed? This book is the most detailed study yet carried out of special advisers. The Constitution Unit's research team, led by Dr Ben Yong and Professor Robert Hazell, assembled a comprehensive database of over 600 special advisers since 1979. They conducted written surveys, and interviewed over 100 special advisers, ministers and officials from the past thirty years. They conclude that special advisers are now a permanent and indispensable part of Whitehall, but are still treated as transient and temporary. The book concludes with practical recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of special advisers through improvements to their recruitment, induction and training, support and supervision, and strengthening their accountability.

This Palgrave Policy Essential maps and assesses key changes in the Whitehall model over the last two decades. It argues that the traditional Whitehall model is being replaced by a system of ‘New Political Governance’ (NPG) centred on politicised campaigning; the growth of political advisory staff relative to the permanent civil service; the personalisation of bureaucratic appointments; and the creation of a government machine that is ‘promiscuously partisan’. It provides a snapshot of the institutional changes that are unfolding at a critical moment, as Whitehall prepares to support Ministers in carrying out the Brexit process while addressing a series of long-term structural challenges from the demographic pressures of the ageing society to the impact of climate change. Austerity since 2010 has had a further transformative effect on Whitehall, with drastic reductions in the civil service workforce, the restructuring of government agencies, and a reconfiguration of the traditional roles and responsibilities of the permanent civil service.

This open access book presents a topical, comprehensive and differentiated analysis of Germany’s public administration and reforms. It provides an overview on key elements of German public administration at the federal, Länder and local levels of government as well as on current reform activities of the public sector. It examines the key institutional features of German public administration; the changing relationships between public administration, society and the private sector; the administrative reforms at different levels of the federal system and numerous sectors; and new challenges and modernization approaches like digitalization, Open Government and Better Regulation. Each chapter offers a combination of descriptive information and problem-oriented analysis, presenting key topical issues in Germany which are relevant to an international readership.

This book addresses an important issue and debate in public administration: the politicization of civil service systems and personnel. Using a comparative framework the authors address issues such as compensation, appointments made from outside the civil service system, anonymity, partisanship and systems used to handle appointees of prior administrations in the US, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Greece.