Seen but not partisan

Changing expectations of public servants in Westminster systems

Bibliographic Data

ID9962463
AuthorsBrendan Boyd (0009-0007-0176-778X, MacEwan University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume90
Issue3
Pages669-685
Publication date2024-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Review of Administrative Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-8523 • E-ISSN: 1461-7226
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00208523231219926
PMID39210979
OpenAlexW4390430627
LanguageEN
References cited66

Much has been written about the changing role of unelected public servants in Westminster systems of government and their relationship with elected officials and the public. However, there are no studies comparing how these three groups perceive the role, and what they expect from public servants. This article provides the findings from three surveys of public servants, politicians and the public in Canada to assess how they view the role of the public servant and how this compares to different conceptions in the academic literature. The study finds that all three groups support the principles of ministerial responsibility and non-partisanship but do not believe that public servants should be anonymous and free from public scrutiny. This raises the question of whether some aspects of the traditional public servant role can be altered while keeping others in place and suggests that advocates for altering the role of the public servant will be most successful if they focus on certain aspects while preserving others

Civil servants · Political science · Politics · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research