Power
Where Is It?
Has power moved out of institutions into the hands of powerful individuals?
Description
In this informative critique of contemporary leadership, renowned political scientist Donald Savoie poses and answers the crucial questions: where is power located, and who is in charge? In recent years it has become extremely difficult to pinpoint the location of political and economic power, making it complicated to determine who is to blame for political and economic catastrophes and leading to increased disenchantment with Western politicians and bureaucrats. Power considers how forces such as globalization, the new media, the changing role of the courts in parliamentary democracies, the partisanship of political parties in shaping policy, and collapsing boundaries between governments and within government departments have caused citizens to feel their countries are less democratic. Savoie argues that power is leaving institutions and organizations and going to powerful individuals in both the public and private sectors, who often push aside formal processes in order to drive change. A startling and clarifying examination of changes in modern society, Power unravels the tangled web of influences that have put the power to make important decisions in the hands of the few to show why our governing institutions are no longer effective.
Reviews
“Donald Savoie advances the study of political power by considering vital issues in contemporary Western democracies, while providing excellent insights in an engaging style. This is an ambitious undertaking and will spark a necessary debate.” –Peter Aucoin, Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University “An astute and accomplished specialist of government, Donald Savoie has one of the most comprehensive understandings of our system of government. The extensive conversations with senior government and private sector officials included in this book are helpful and revealing. Power offers pertinent reflections on how democracy has evolved in this age of public distrust, globalization, and world-market economy.” –Robert Asselin, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa
"Power is not a polemic written to blast one particular side but it is also not a sleepy political science text designed to fit on a university shelf to gather dust. It is a thoughtful and compelling book that explains the shifting power structure of our
"Donald Savoie advances the study of political power by considering vital issues in contemporary Western democracies, while providing excellent insights in an engaging style. This is an ambitious undertaking and will spark a necessary debate." Peter Aucoin, Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University
"An astute and accomplished specialist of government, Donald Savoie has one of the most comprehensive understandings of our system of government. The extensive conversations with senior government and private sector officials included in this book are hel
"This is a useful, informed analysis of an exceptionally important development in the modern democratic policy process. Summing Up: Highly recommended." CHOICE
"[Power: Where Is It] is an Important book... [it] draws attention to fundamental problems which every modern democracy will have to confront." Times Literary Supplement