Carl Dahlström is Professor at the Department of Political Science, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden, and Research Fellow at the Quality of Government Institute. His research is concerned with comparative and historical perspectives on public administration, administrative reforms and welfare state policymaking. Victor Lapuente is Associate Professor and Research Fellow in the Quality of Government Institute, at the Department of Political Science, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden. His research deals with comparative politics and public administration, combining both quantitative and qualitative methods.

• 1. Why relations between politicians and bureaucrats matter; 2. Theory; 3. A closed Weberian bureaucracy; 4. Corruption; 5. Effectiveness; 6. Reforms; 7. Conclusions.

'In this impressive book, Dahlstrom and Lapuente think deeply about the organization of the state and the quality of government. They argue that a productive structuring of the relationship between politicians and civil servants minimizes corruption and inefficiency. They explore this relationship with terrific case examples and data on more than 100 countries around the world. It is a terrific example of research that carefully builds bridges across literatures to provide new insights on big questions.' David E. Lewis, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee

Carl Dahlström is Professor at the Department of Political Science, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden, and Research Fellow at the Quality of Government Institute. His research is concerned with comparative and historical perspectives on public administration, administrative reforms and welfare state policymaking. Victor Lapuente is Associate Professor and Research Fellow in the Quality of Government Institute, at the Department of Political Science, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden. His research deals with comparative politics and public administration, combining both quantitative and qualitative methods.

• 1. Why relations between politicians and bureaucrats matter; 2. Theory; 3. A closed Weberian bureaucracy; 4. Corruption; 5. Effectiveness; 6. Reforms; 7. Conclusions.

'In this impressive book, Dahlstrom and Lapuente think deeply about the organization of the state and the quality of government. They argue that a productive structuring of the relationship between politicians and civil servants minimizes corruption and inefficiency. They explore this relationship with terrific case examples and data on more than 100 countries around the world. It is a terrific example of research that carefully builds bridges across literatures to provide new insights on big questions.' David E. Lewis, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee

Carl Dahlström is Professor at the Department of Political Science, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden, and Research Fellow at the Quality of Government Institute. His research is concerned with comparative and historical perspectives on public administration, administrative reforms and welfare state policymaking. Victor Lapuente is Associate Professor and Research Fellow in the Quality of Government Institute, at the Department of Political Science, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden. His research deals with comparative politics and public administration, combining both quantitative and qualitative methods.

• 1. Why relations between politicians and bureaucrats matter; 2. Theory; 3. A closed Weberian bureaucracy; 4. Corruption; 5. Effectiveness; 6. Reforms; 7. Conclusions.

'In this impressive book, Dahlstrom and Lapuente think deeply about the organization of the state and the quality of government. They argue that a productive structuring of the relationship between politicians and civil servants minimizes corruption and inefficiency. They explore this relationship with terrific case examples and data on more than 100 countries around the world. It is a terrific example of research that carefully builds bridges across literatures to provide new insights on big questions.' David E. Lewis, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee