Speaking truth to power demands diplomatic skills. This book looks at the way advice, which is needed by all executives, is provided to the summit of government in twelve advanced industrialized countries (Australia, Belgium, Britain, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and the US). It examines the increasing pressures for centralization as core executives confront the differentiation and pluralization of government and the interplay of constitutional, political, and institutional factors.

Beyond Westminster and Whitehall provides the first comprehensive account of the range of sub-central government institutions that are responsible for the delivery of services to citizens. These bodies are the warp and weft of the British system of government and yet are all too frequently ignored. For a full understanding of British government, the study of sub-central government is of equivalent importance to that of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and Parliament. Westminster and Whitehall do not always get what they want. There are a great many restraints upon the actions of the centre,...