1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910816511703321

Autore

Aberbach Joel D

Titolo

Bureaucrats and politicians in western democracies / / Joel D. Aberbach, Robert D. Putnam, Bert A. Rockman ; with the collaboration of ... [others]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass ; ; London, : Harvard University Press, c1981

ISBN

0-674-02004-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 308 pages) : illustrations

Altri autori (Persone)

PutnamRobert D

RockmanBert A

Disciplina

320.094

Soggetti

Government executives - Europe

Government executives - United States

Politicians - Europe

Politicians - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Preface -- Contents -- Bureaucrats and Politicians in Western Democracies -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Strategy of Inquiry -- 3. Paths to the Top -- 4. Roles and Styles in Policymaking -- 5. The Compass of Elite Ideology -- 6. Democrats, Pluralists, Populists, and Others -- 7. Interactions at the Top -- 8. Energy and Equilibrium in the Policy Process -- Notes -- Prior Publications -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

In uneasy partnership at the helm of the modern state stand elected party politicians and professional bureaucrats. This book is the first comprehensive comparison of these two powerful elites. In seven countries--the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and the Netherlands--researchers questioned 700 bureaucrats and 6OO politicians in an effort to understand how their aims, attitudes, and ambitions differ within cultural settings. One of the authors' most significant findings is that the worlds of these two elites overlap much more in the United States than in Europe. But throughout the West bureaucrats and politicians each wear special blinders and each have special virtues. In a well-ordered polity, the authors conclude, politicians articulate society's dreams and bureaucrats bring



them gingerly to earth.