Governing from the Centre: The Concentration of Power in Canadian Politics

Savoie, Donald J.

ISBN 10: 0802082521 / ISBN 13: 9780802082527

Published by University of Toronto Press, Toronto

About this Item

[0-8020-8252-1] [2000]. (Trade paperback) Near fine. 440pp. Tables, charts, notes, index. (Canada, Government--Canada, Political Science, Politics--Canada, Power, Public Administration). Seller Inventory # 133242

Bibliographic Details

Title: Governing from the Centre: The Concentration...

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Toronto

Binding: Soft cover

About this title

Synopsis:

Redefined during the past thirty years, the centre of government currently extends itself further than ever before. Central governmental agencies are 'where the rubber meets the road', where public service meets politics, and policy becomes reality. So who's driving this car? Agencies such as the Privy Council Office, the Finance Department, and the Treasury Board exert their influence horizontally, deciding how policy is made and how money gets spent According to Donald Savoie, these organizations, instituted to streamline Ottawa's planning processes, instead telescope power to the Prime Minister and weaken the influence of ministers, the traditional line departments, and even parliament, without contributing to more rational and coherent policy-making. This is scholarship at its best: rigorous and riveting. The government operates as a combination of known procedures and the more elusive subtleties of human relationships and unspoken codes of behaviour. Donald Savoie's long-time involvement in government affairs allows him to read through the surface of the results of his extensive research-which included several interviews with elites-in order to expose all the levels of power at play. Indispensable reading for students of politics, public policy, and public administration, Ottawa watchers, journalists, lobbyists, and civil servants who want to know what is really going on.

Product Description:

The book is brand new and will be dispatched from UK.