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Back to the Future: Rediscovering the Lost Arts of the Victorian Mandarin

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 12:51 authored by Grube, DC
Under the conventions of the Westminster system, civil service mandarins of the twentieth century were expected to be discrete, impartial and anonymous as they unobtrusively carried on the business of government. Times have changed. The pressures of modern governance and a 24/7 media cycle are pulling contemporary public service leaders further into the public limelight, leading to concerns that they may become politicised. This article draws on an older civil service leadership tradition from the Victorian era, as embodied in the person of Charles Trevelyan, to argue that robust public engagement by mandarins need not lead to their politicisation.

History

Publication title

Parliamentary Affairs: a journal of representative politics

Volume

69

Pagination

708-728

ISSN

0031-2290

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Rights statement

Copyright 2015 The Author

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Public services policy advice and analysis

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