This collection provides valuable information about the structures and composition of the higher civil service and its position in the political structure through a comparative analysis of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden. The book explores how higher civil service has developed in the light of the massive changes in European societies in the past thirty years.

This collection provides valuable information about the structures and composition of the higher civil service and its position in the political structure through a comparative analysis of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden. The book explores how higher civil service has developed in the light of the massive changes in European societies in the past thirty years.

As the complex relationship between the European Union and its member states continues to evolve, this book seeks to explore not only the nature of the relationship but also the broader implications of European integration in which politics in Europe is studied. Written by a group of distinguished academics from both Europe and North America, it considers the impact of European integration both on the nature and the study of politics, especially in Western Europe.

Two leading authors challenge the assumption that France has a well coordinated government. The constitutional, political, and policy frameworks of coordination are critically assessed in relation to the central actors and spending ministries, as well as the formal and informal mechanisms of coordination. Four case studies are examined; the European Union, budget, privatization and immigration policy processes. The book concludes with forthright findings on a fragment executive struggling to steer a disparate and partially paralyzed institutional structure.