Temporality, sequence, and Magnitude in advisory dynamics

Abstract

This chapter examines policy advisory system (PAS) dynamics through identification and analysis of shared and country-specific patterns of PAS change. It provides diachronic analysis of the policy advisory systems in the classic ‘Westminster’ family of countries (Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand). The authors argue that the leading dynamics of politicization and externalization remain important to characterize and analyse how advisory systems change but can mask idiosyncratic country patterns. The analysis focuses on five advisory units: the public service and central agencies, partisan ministerial advisers, external consultants, commissions of inquiry, and select special advisory bodies. The chapter's analysis finds important differences in the tempo, intensity, and sequencing of advisory unit (de)institutionalization in these cases. Attention to questions of the tempo and sequence of advisory system modification adds precision to understanding the organization, operation, and evolution of these systems.