This volume discusses the formation of government cabinets within twenty European democracies, providing the institutional background to the selection and de-selection of ministers.

Exploring the historical and constitutional context to cabinet formation, this volume proceeds to provide vital data on the strategic issues that affect the selection of ministers. Covering states from all over Europe, the authors examine trends from the post-war period up to the present day, with specific focus on recent decades for the newer democracies in political transition. The volume includes:

• pioneering new research into the hiring and firing of government ministers
• vital information on appointments, dismissals and resignations within government cabinets
• succinct constitutional data relating to ministerial selections across a number of European states

The book is the first output of the Selection and De-selection of Political Elites international network of scholars (SEDEPE) and will provide a major source of information for all scholars interested in the formation, maintenance and termination of cabinets and the nature of ministerial government. The Selection of Ministers in Europe. Hiring and Firing will also be of broader interest to students of European Government and Political Institutions.

'This book is the first product of a joint cross-national project whose goal is to systematically analyse the selection and de-selection of political elites. It is clearly a highly successful first move, and lays solid foundations for the next steps in an ambitious project. The book contains invaluable background information on the structure and formation of governments, and rich data on various aspects of the hiring and firing of ministers in ten West European democracies (Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Ireland and Iceland). It also includes a chapter on ten new post-communist democracies. The book is useful for many purposes – from information-gathering in order to prepare an informed class on cabinets and ministers to conducting research. If one is studying the government in a single country, it offers data to put the subject in a comparative perspective. If one aims at a cross-national comparison, this volume is a good starting point.'Gideon Rahat, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Edited by Dowding, Keith; Dumont, Patrick