- Hardcover: 480 pages
- Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division; 1 edition (Jun 12 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 080204476X
- ISBN-13: 978-0802044761
- Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 16.1 x 3.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 821 g
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#1,079,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #23 in Books > Law > Administrative Law > Central Governments
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
'Donald Savoie has achieved the impossible: He has written an interesting book on Canada's bureaucrats. Most studies of public administration are about as fascinating as the digestive system of a snail, but Savoie ... has made the world of our Mandarin masters come to life. Governing from the Centre describes an important and dangerous turn in Canadian politics.'
(Barry Cooper National Post )'Governing from the Centre ... is a remarkably lucid description of "inside" federal Ottawa as being far more a prime ministerial affair than most people realize. It details what a lot of us have sensed but have not been able to define and thoroughly explain.'
(Douglas Fisher Toronto Sun )Product Description
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.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A warning that dictatorship threatens Canadian Democracy, Oct 13 1999
By Colin Stark (cstark@npsnet.com) - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Governing from the Centre: The Concentration of Power in Canadian Politics (Hardcover)
Since Trudeau, Canadian Prime Ministers have centralized power in the Prime Minister's Office, and the office of the Privy Council. Unknown bureaucrats now preempt the power that used to belong to Parliament, and more recently, Cabinet. Chretien wields more raw power than most 3rd World dictators. A very readable "mystery", that explains APEC pepper spraying, the Somalia Affair, etc.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Law > Administrative Law > Central Governments
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences > Political Science > Government
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences > Political Science > Public Affairs
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences > Political Science > Public Policy
- Books > Nonfiction > Government > Politics
- Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Political Parties
- Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Practical Politics
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Political Science
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
