ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the historical origins and features of the modern day Westminster civil service tradition. It shows that the rise of political advisors appointed not on the basis of merit, but patronage, thus poses a significant challenge to the Westminster civil service, which was constructed as a bulwark against patronage. The Westminster advisory system that cleaves a strict division between the apolitical civil service and partisan advisors is not the only option for ministerial advisory systems. Accordingly, this chapter outlines two main alternative advisory systems: the American system and the European cabinet system.
