Revisiting The Politics of Bureaucracy
| Author | Donald J Savoie |
| DOI | 10.1177/1369148119830618 |
| Published date | 01 August 2019 |
| Date | 01 August 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Breakthrough Commentaries |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148119830618
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2019, Vol. 21(3) 480 –486
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1369148119830618
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Revisiting The Politics of
Bureaucracy
Donald J Savoie
Keywords
bureaucracy, governance, machinery of government, New Public Management, public
administration, relations between politicians and career officials
B. Guy Peters published a classic 30 years ago. It continues to have a profound influence
on both students of government and practitioners. It was a case of – come the moment,
come the book.
Government bureaucracies came under heavy attack in the early 1980s, from several
quarters. It will be recalled that even politicians were quick to express frustrations with
government bureaucracies and the work of public servants, including many reporting to
them. Government bureaucracies were accused of being bloated, cumbersome, uncrea-
tive, lethargic and insensitive (Savoie, 1994). It will also be recalled that BBC’s Yes
Minister became the favourite television programme of many politicians and career offi-
cials on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The not-so-subtle message of Yes Minister was
that career officials were running government; their deference to politicians was pure
pretence. The series gave credence to bureaucrat ‘bashing’ and projected a less than flat-
tering image of the work of government bureaucracies.
Peters’ The Politics of Bureaucracy provided answers for both students of government
and practitioners wishing to understand the finer points of the workings of the machinery
of government and how government decisions are made. Peters also led the way for stu-
dents of government wishing to study government bureaucracy, particularly from a com-
parative perspective. His book has had a deep influence on my own work over the years.
I have turned to The Politics of Bureaucracy on numerous occasions when planning my
own contributions to public administration. I am hardly alone. One can see Peters’ influ-
ence in many other contributions from many students of government and from many
different national settings (Pearce, 2001; Wilson, 1989).
Peters, better than anyone, appreciated the importance of providing both a comprehen-
sive and a comparative perspective to better understand government operations. He
explored the full gamut of the forces shaping what government departments do, how they
do it and why they do it. Peters’ comprehensive perspective looked at the work of both
Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada
Corresponding author:
Donald J Savoie, Canada Research Chair in Public Administration and Governance, Tier 1, Université de
Moncton, Moncton, NB E1A 3E9, Canada.
Email: donald.savoie@umoncton.ca
830618BPI0010.1177/1369148119830618The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsSavoie
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