In this our final episode for the current academic year, we’re going to tackle one of the biggest questions of political science: How do you run an effective government? In particular, how do you build a bureaucracy that’s able to deliver? Is it better to have neutral civil servants, who are appointed on merit and retain their posts whichever parties are in power? Or should we prefer a politicized bureaucracy, whose members are appointed at least in part for their loyalty to the politicians in charge, and who come and go with their political masters?
That question is particularly salient here in the UK just at the moment. As we have discussed on several episodes of this podcast over the year, the current government under Boris Johnson has been widely criticized for undermining Britain’s longstanding tradition of civil service neutrality by pushing some senior officials out and bringing in others it thinks better attuned to its agenda. Government ministers counter, however, that a nominally neutral civil service in fact betrays the prejudices of the establishment, and that a democratically elected government should not be fettered by unelected bureaucrats.
Similar questions arise in countries around the world. Indeed, by guest today has conducted research in dozens of countries aimed at answering these and related questions. That guest is Christian Schuster, who is Professor of Public Management here in the UCL Department of Political Science.
UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.
Should experts set the fiscal rules?
The UK Healthcare Crisis
Responding to Civilian Harm in Millitary Conflicts
Do Protests Affect What Politicians Say?
Settling Disputes Between Governments and Investors
Death Threats and Online Content Moderation
Managing Diversity Amongst the EU Member States
The Battle for LGBT+ Rights
How Parliaments Question Prime Ministers
The Future of Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland
Improving Public Services
Russian Discourses of Sovereignty
Historical Research in Political Science
Climate Change Loss and Damage
'Acts of speech' and how people recieve them
The Domestic Politics of IMF Lending
The Politics of Migration
Fiscal Transparency And The Public Purse
Backyard Housing And The Dynamics Of Collective Action
Taking Offence
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