Cabinet reshuffles are widely seen as a defining feature of Westminster-type democracies. They have a major role in shaping intra-governmental relations and may intensify or help solve cabinet conflicts. They are important instruments for prime ministers to promote and demote party members, often with far-reaching consequences for the wider political scene. They can also increase governmental efficiency and trigger policy change. They are also a highly visible form of executive politics and are closely followed by the public.
But despite their popularity and ubiquity, the literature on cabinet reshuffles remains stubbornly resistant to analysis and identification of clear patterns or rules. This collection of articles seeks to overcome these weaknesses by bringing together new comparative work on the different types and causes of cabinet reshuffles across a wide range of contexts and regimes.
One strand of the collection explores how cabinet reshuffles shape the use of no-confidence motions in parliament, by giving opposition parties an opportunity to signal their dissatisfaction with the quality and efficiency of government (Fleming, Gonzalez-Bustamante and Schleiter 2022). The other focuses on how excessive ministerial churn can hurt cabinet effectiveness. This is because it makes it hard for ministers to acquire the administrative and policy expertise necessary to run their departments or hold their rivals to account, especially in sectors that rely heavily on departmental guidance.
Lastly, the collection includes an essay that considers how, when a cabinet minister is shifted to the backbenches, it can actually backfire as a tool of party discipline. By removing them from collective cabinet responsibility, reshuffles can empower political rivals to criticise the government openly and undermine the prime minister’s authority (Malhotra 2021).
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