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The Cabinet: A Viable Definition and its Composition in View of a Comparative Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2013

Abstract

This article is made up of two main parts. The first part points out two different definitions of cabinet – that is, functional and legal definitions. It also highlights the strong points and the shortcomings of both, proposing at the same time a new definition more suitable for a comparative analysis. In doing this, it puts forward some useful criteria with a view to establishing what a minister actually is, what a cabinet is and how it is made up. The second part provides an overview of the structures of governments in 38 countries, from core to junior ministers, on this basis.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Government and Opposition Ltd 2013 

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Footnotes

*

Cristina Barbieri is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Pavia. Contact email: [email protected]. Michelangelo Vercesi is PhD in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Pavia. Contact email: [email protected].

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