Comparative Politics
2 total works
`Interest Groups' is the first title in the series `Comparative Politics', in which the key areas of the study of politics are examined with a comparative perspective by leading political scientists.The role of interest groups (unions, trade associations, business confederations, etc.) in the political process is one of the hottest topics in current political science, particularly in the USA, where there has been a dramatic growth in interest group activity since the early 1970s.This text presents a summary of key controversies in the study of interest groups and a survey of interest group systems in a variety of countries - primarily in the USA, Britain, Japan and France. The subject raises a number of issues (such as the relationship between business and government) both in the empirical study of politics and in political theory, and Graham Wilson's book is the first to subject these to a comparative perspective. It will thus be essential reading for all students of politics.
This work reassesses the shifting fortunes of the Whitehall model of government, and finds it wanting. The United Kingdom's "Whitehall" model of governance, which in the postwar years was admired and respected by many other countries, especially the USA, has declined in influence over the last decade to the point where it is now looking increasingly outmoded. This model of apparently seamless relationships between ministers and civil servants (the so-called Central Executive Territory) which produced effective decisions, policies, and legislation has come under consistent attack by neo-liberal and neo-conservative critics alike. Its ability to generate effective decisions and policies has been repeatedly called into question. This book is a comparative analysis of the Whitehall model paradigm, and its successes and failures, in a range of Western democracies (including the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). They also analyze its fortunes in its homeland, demonstrating that Whitehall's current problems are both a product of Thatcherism and a structural deficiency arising from governance in the modern polity itself.
The book is based on over 150 interviews conducted with top officials and ministers.
The book is based on over 150 interviews conducted with top officials and ministers.