In turbulent environments and unstable political contexts, policy advisory systems have become more volatile. The policy advisory system in Anglophone countries is composed of different types of advisers who have input into government decision making. Government choices about who advises them varies widely as they demand contestability, greater partisan input and more external consultation. The professional advice of the public service may be disregarded. The consequences for public policy are immense depending on whether a plurality of advice works effectively or is derailed by narrow and partisan agendas that lack an evidence base and implementation plans. The book seeks to addresses these issues within a comparative country analysis of how policy advisory systems are constituted and how they operate in the age of instability in governance and major challenges with how the complexity policy issue can be handled.

1. Policy Advisory Systems: An Introduction; 2. Comparative Contexts; 3. Approaches to Understanding PAS and Change over Time; 4. Public Services and Policy Advice; 5. Ministerial Partisan Advisers and the Politicisation of PAS; 6. Alternative Advice from Within Government; 7. External Advice; 8. Understanding Westminster PAS Change; 9. Trends, Tensions, and the State of Neo-policy Advisory Systems.

Jonathan Craft is an Associate Professor with the Department of Political Science and jointly appointed to the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. He is also the founding director of Policy Ready-a research and learning platform focused on revitalizing public sector policy making. Jonathan specializes in comparative public policy and administration, policy analysis, and Canadian politics. He is particularly interested in the study of the policy process, political-administrative relations, policy advice, and the intersection of technology and policy making. He is the author of Backrooms and Beyond: Partisan Advisers and the Politics of Policy Work in Canada (2016) and is a co-editor of Policy Work in Canada: Professional Practices and Analytical Capacities (2017) and Issues in Canadian Governance (2018).