Thatcher, Reagan, and Mulroney In Search of a New Bureaucracy
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Donald J. Savoie holds a Canada Research Chair in Public Administration and Governance at the Université de Moncton.The stated purpose of this book is to examine how three world-class critics of big government, Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, Ronald Reagan of the United States, and Brian Mulroney of Canada, 'sought to modernize their bureaucracies.' Although they all failed to achieve their announced goals, Thatcher's reforms were more extensive and more lasting than those of her North American soul mates. . . . This carefully researched book makes a solid contribution to the literature in comparative public administration." - <i>Journal of American History</i><br /><br />"In this informative and genuinely comparative study Donald Savoie offers valuable insights into the attempts in the '80s to introduce management techniques into government. . . . He concludes that 'politicians are probably in greater need of courses in governance . . . than career officials are in need of management development courses,' an observation which offers a tantalizing prospect for academics, but which is unlikely even to loom on the political horizon!" - <i>Political Studies</i><br /><br />"Savoie's book is a useful and illuminating account of the quest for greater managerial efficiency in three countries. He illustrates the value of a comparative perspective." - <i>Political Science Quarterly</i>
Is government now better in these countries, and was political leadership right in focusing on management of the bureaucracy as the villain? Savoie suggests that the reforms overlooked problems now urgently requiring attention and, at the same time, attempted to address non-existent problems. He combines theory and research based on sixty-two interviews, nearly all with members of the executive branch of the governments of Britain, Canada and the United States.