Governing together : the extent and limits of joint decision-making in Western European cabinets

Abstract

'Governing together' is the first truly comparative attempt at analysing how the national cabinets of Western European parliamentary systems take their decisions. There has been much talk about 'prime ministerial government' and about the end of the cabinet as an effective body. On the basis of the analysis of conflicts and, especially, of over 400 interviews of ministers in twelve Western European countries, this study examines the nature of the decision process. The role of procedures and rules, of parties and prime ministers' offices, of individual ministers, of ministers of finance, and, above all, of prime ministers, is thus examined for the first time on the basis of the evidence of those who belong to national cabinets. The work considers in particular how far governments composed of one party only and governments based on coalitions differ from one another, as well as whether large differences are due to the characteristics of individual countries. The overall conclusion is that, while cabinets no longer have, in most countries, the central position which they once had, they remain an essential focus for the national decision process.