Examines the ways in which the Westminster system has influenced the shaping of responsible government and democracy across Asia, Australasia and the Pacific. It also examines the ways the Westminster system has been adapted in these different countries in the light of local practices and traditions.

This book presents the first comprehensive study of the development of the central institution of Australian government over the first century of its life.

Comparing Westminster explores how the governmental elites in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa understand their Westminster system. It examines in detail four interrelated features of Westminster systems. Firstly, the increasing centralization in collective, responsible cabinet government. Second, the constitutional convention of ministerial and collective responsibility. Third, the role of a professional, non-partisan public service. And finally, parliament's relationship to the executive. The authors explain the changes that have occured in the Westminster model by...

Beginning with Rudd's childhood in rural Queensland, examines the people, places and politics that shaped him into the leader he is today. A frank analysis of Kevin Rudd's leadership style and his government's first term in power.

Drawing on extensive interviews with current and former ministers, ministerial staffers, and senior officials, this in-depth examination offers insight into the Australian political and democratic processes. Exploring the lives of Australia's federal ministers at work, this revealing account investigates how a new ministry learns and adapts to the responsibilities of governing as well as the means by which ministers learn to juggle time and other resources in their simultaneous, and sometimes conflicting, roles--as members of Parliament and Cabinet, as local constituency representatives, and...

Comparing Westminster explores how the governmental elites in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa understand their Westminster system. It examines in detail four interrelated features of Westminster systems. Firstly, the increasing centralization in collective, responsible cabinet government. Second, the constitutional convention of ministerial and collective responsibility. Third, the role of a professional, non-partisan public service. And finally, parliament's relationship to the executive. The authors explain the changes that have occured in the Westminster model by...

International organisations (IOs) often receive a bad press, seen as intrusive, domineering and unresponsive to the needs of the people and countries they are meant to serve. The best way to understand the operation of these international organisations is to bring together those who represent their countries at IOs and those who have been working at IOs at various capacities and then to listen to their experiences.

This book develops an alternative approach to the analysis of IOs that takes account of all those involved, whether state representatives, IO leaders and members...

This volume examines the actions and decisions of International Organizations (IOs), and through a comparative study of six IOs examines how their structures, rules, and norms shape the choice-selections of players.

This volume examines how prime ministers work and the means by which they choose to run their governments, and compares four parliamentary systems (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom) over the past 40 years.