The End of Whitehall

In this new work, two leading political scientists reassess the shifting fortunes of the Whitehall model of governance - and find it wanting.
As we prepare to enter the twenty-first century, it has become clear that the model now has much less currency abroad as well as in the UK. The neo-liberal assaults of Thatcherism and the political drift of the Major years has meant that whereas, previously, 'Whitehall' symbolized a synergy between the political leadership and the permanent bureaucracy, it now evokes images of executive disarray and the subservience of career civil servants to the (often faddish) will of their political masters. Series Editor's Preface.

Preface.

1. The Force of the Whitehall Model in the World of Executive - Bureaucratic Politics.

2. Bureaucrats and Politicians in Britain: The Model Breaks.

3. Executive Leadership in the Age of Minimalism: A Comparative Perspective.

4. Leadership under Thatcher and Major and the Legacy of Neo-Liberalism.

5. The Decline of Coherence and Consistency as Political-Administrative Goals: A Comparative Perspective.

6. A Paragon Lost?.

7. Whither Accountability?.

8. The Post-Whitehall Era.

Bibliography.

Index.

Colin Campbell is University Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University, Washington.

Graham Wilson is Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In this new work, two leading political scientists reassess the shifting fortunes of the Whitehall model of governance - and find it wanting. The United Kingdom's Whitehall model commanded great respect in the postwar years. The United States had regard for the Whitehall model due to its relative efficiency in introducing and implementing modern social and industrial policies. In the cases of advanced Commonwealth countries - Canada, Australia and New Zealand - the high regard for the Whitehall model derived from the view that bureaucratic development depended upon replicating how things were done in Britain.

As we enter the twenty-first century, it has become clear that the model now has much less currency abroad as well as in the UK. The neo-liberal assaults of Thatcherism and the political drift of the Major years has meant that whereas, previously, "Whitehall" symbolized a synergy between the political leadership and the permanent bureaucracy, it now evokes images of executive disarray and the subservience of career civil servants to the (often faddish) will of their political masters.

This work bases its analysis of the decline of the Whitehall model since the mid-1970s on in-depth interviews with senior officials conducted over the past 17 years. This important book is essential reading for all politics students, scholars and observers of Whitehall.