The Westminster system under the Cameron coalition: ‘Promiscuous partisanship’ or institutional resilience?

Diamond, Patrick

doi:10.1177/0952076717737595

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The ally principle also promotes the aligning of preferences between the minister and bureaucrats. A relatively recent trend in research has argued that principle-agent problems can be potentially mitigated through government usage of ex ante screening instruments, such as the power to appoint top civil servants, which reduces agency losses and ensures the agents' responsiveness towards governments' policy preferences (Diamond, 2017). Therefore, a new standard principle needs to be equated: BC.…”

Section: Principles Of Delegationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining perceptions of autonomy in the last chain of delegation

Silva

Jalali

2018

Public Policy and Administration

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This article explores the impact of consolidated principles of delegation on top civil servants’ perceptions of autonomy in management and policy-making processes across European parliamentary democracies. Particular attention is devoted to the extent to which bureaucratic capacity can be equated as a principle of delegation, considering the lenses and perspectives of bureaucrats instead of relying on politicians’ formal mechanisms to control bureaucratic activities. Empirically, this article is based on a large-scale study survey of senior public executives applied in eight European countries. While consolidated principles of delegation seem to be able to explain perceptions of autonomy across parliamentary democracies, results also suggest the importance of including bureaucratic capacity as a predictor of autonomy in the last chain of delegation. This emerges as one of the strongest explanatory variables of perceptions of managerial autonomy, regardless of the hierarchical position of respondents. However, it does not impact on bureaucrats’ perception of policy autonomy, as respondents’ position within the administrative state and the distinct traits of national public bureaucracies in Europe have a greater impact on the delegation of authority.

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Section: Principles Of Delegationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining perceptions of autonomy in the last chain of delegation

Silva

Jalali

2018

Public Policy and Administration

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“…Research should consider this study alongside studies showing a continued presence of impartiality among senior officials (Alford et al ., 2017; Diamond, 2019; Grube and Howard, 2016). One possible interpretation of this article vis-à-vis such contrasting studies, which future research should explore, is whether underlying pressures inducing promiscuous partisanship are becoming stronger, or perhaps, whether promiscuous partisanship might be more ephemeral, arising when the right set of contingencies are in place and upsetting what is otherwise an environment of impartiality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, today’s bureaucracies might not be as nightmarish as Aucoin depicts. To date, the evidentiary record has led many scholars to dismiss NPG as empirically inaccurate (Grube and Howard, 2016; Boston and Nethercote, 2012; Lindquist and Rasmussen, 2012; Diamond, 2019). This article contributes to this research by examining a case study from Canada of the SNC-Lavalin affair to identify whether the loyalty displayed by the senior most public servant—the Clerk of the Privy Council (the Clerk)—during a highly publicized parliamentary committee reflects impartiality or promiscuous partisanship.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Promiscuously partisan public servants? Publicly defending and promoting the government’s reputation to the detriment of bureaucratic impartiality and truthfulness

Cooper

2023

IJPL

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PurposeFor many, the claim that a new approach to bureaucracy—new political governance (NPG)—is underway reads as if it was written by Stephen King: Frightening fiction. While the thought of promiscuously partisan senior public servants publicly defending and promoting the government’s reputation to the demise of impartiality is disturbing, the evidentiary record has led most to dismiss the idea as empirically false. This article questions, and empirically investigates, whether dismissing the idea of promiscuous partisanship has been premature.Design/methodology/approachA case study of the loyalty displayed by Canada’s most senior public servant during a highly publicized parliamentary committee is analysed with a novel theoretical and empirical approach in three steps. First, the Clerk of the Privy Council (Clerk)’s committee testimony is analysed against analytical constructs of impartial and promiscuous partisan loyalty that focuses on the testimony’s direction and substance. Second, the objectivity and truthfulness of the testimony is analysed by comparing what was publicly claimed to have occurred against evidence submitted to the committee that provids an independent record of events. Third, the perception the Clerk’s testimony had on some committee members, political journalists and members of the public is analysed through print media and committee Hansard.FindingsWhile the Clerk’s testimony displays an awareness of upholding impartiality, it also comprises promiscuous partisanship. Throughout his testimony, the Clerk redirects from the line of questioning to defend and promote the sitting government’s reputation. Moreover, to defend and promote the government’s reputation the Clerk’s testimony moved away from objectivity and engaged in truth-obfuscating tactics. Finally, the nature of the Clerk’s testimony was perceived by some committee members and the public—including former senior public servants—as having abandoned impartiality to have become a public “cheerleader” of the government.Research limitations/implicationsEmploying an in-depth case study limits the extent to which the findings concerning the presence of promiscuously partisan loyalty can be generalized beyond the present case to the larger cadre of senior public servants.Originality/valueEmpirically, while most research has dismissed claims of promiscuous partisanship as empirically unfounded, this article provides what is possibly the strongest empirical case to date of a public incident of promiscuous partisanship at the apex of the bureaucracy. As such, scholars can no longer dismiss NPG as an interesting idea without much empirical leverage. Theoretically, this article adds further caution to Aucoin’s original narrative of NPG by suggesting that promiscuous partisanship might not only involve senior public servants defending and promoting the government, but that doing so may push them to engage in truth-obfuscating tactics, and therein, weaken the public’s confidence in political institutions. The novel theoretical and empirical approach to studying senior public servants’ parliamentary testimony can be used by scholars in other settings to expand the empirical study of bureaucratic loyalty.

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“…More recently, a MHCLG official noted that the task of persuading reluctant departments to get involved had been made more challenging due to the fact this 'this Prime Minister is not as pro devolution as her predecessor so devolution for devolution's sake is no longer on the agenda'. This demonstrates how the formal state apparatus -or institutional Westminster resiliencesignificantly shaped the environment for doing business (Diamond, 2019). The first round of devolution deals in 2015 were shaped by a very particular set of factors that made a high degree of informality possible -i.e.…”

Section: Resistance: How Has Central and Local Resistance Shaped The mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…First, the historical and enduring legacy of the Westminster model undoubtedly shaped the ruling of senior civil servants charged with managing devolution (Diamond, 2019). High profile Ministers were instrumental in shaping the scope and direction of the policy and for sanctioning civil servants to go 'off script' and adopt more informal and relational approaches to managing central-local relationships.…”

Section: Part V Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decentred assessment of the impact of ‘informal governance’ on democratic legitimacy

Ayres

2020

Public Policy and Administration

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The aim of this article is to examine the impact of informal governance on democratic legitimacy. It draws on the literatures on informal governance and decentred theory to examine how governance mechanisms that are un-written, un-codified and non-institutional impact on democratic legitimacy in governance networks. Drawing on a case study of English devolution in the United Kingdom, this article explores how informal governance impacts on different dimensions of legitimacy -input, throughout and output. It does so by drawing on the narratives and stories of central government officials directly involved in English devolution between 2015 and 2018. Findings reveal that even when formal structures are weak, democratic legitimacy can be secured, especially in promoting effective decision making and problem solving -throughput legitimacy. Nonetheless, a decentred analysis has shown a high level of selectivity and differentiation in central-local relationships that undermines legitimation based on input (inclusiveness) and outcome (results) legitimacy. This assessment provides important new insights into how governance networks characterized by high levels of informality can promote democratic legitimacy in ways that reflect the nuances of political decision making in highly complex environments. The challenge for politicians and policy makers moving forward is to actively manage the inevitable trade-offs generated through the use of informality if accusations of a democratic deficit are to be averted.

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The Westminster system under the Cameron coalition: ‘Promiscuous partisanship’ or institutional resilience?

Cited by 8 publications

References 24 publications

Explaining perceptions of autonomy in the last chain of delegation

Explaining perceptions of autonomy in the last chain of delegation

Promiscuously partisan public servants? Publicly defending and promoting the government’s reputation to the detriment of bureaucratic impartiality and truthfulness

A decentred assessment of the impact of ‘informal governance’ on democratic legitimacy

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