Workshop 23

Theorising advisers and their relation to politicians and bureaucrats





The role of advisors in politico-administrative systems differs across not only Western democracies, but also within the Nordic countries. In some countries advisers have been conceived as spin-doctors whereas in others political advisers have been an institutional element in the core policy activities of the ministries. Regardless of their title, the role of those advisors and units in traditional policy advice usually remains opaque and undertheorised. Whereas their interference with the line bureaucracy appears to cause tensions and conflicts in some countries, the relationship is rather characterized as co-operative and complementary in others.








The limited empirical knowledge on ministerial advisors and units is related to the theoretical approaches to understand the relationship between politicians, advisers and the bureaucracy. Various notions of politicisation and Public Service Bargains represent the prominent perspectives in contemporary research. Their explanatory power, however, needs to be enhanced. So far, the factors accounting for either a conflict-laden or co-operative relationship appear unclear. The panel seeks to discuss factors explaining the relationship politicians, advisers and the bureaucracy.








The panel welcomes papers on the relationship between politicians, bureaucrats and advisors and on the role of advisors and advisory units in policy-making, in communication activities etc.








We invite both theoretical and empirical papers, but are particularly interested in theory-based analyses with an explanatory design and an interest in theory development. We encourage comparative case studies and cross-country comparisons but also welcome single case studies.