A cabinet reshuffle is when the head of government changes who sits in their ministerial team. It is a common practice in parliamentary systems, but can also happen in other types of governments, including monarchies and dictatorships where cabinet heads are confirmed by a separate legislative body (see Fleming and Gonzalez-Bustamante 2022). Reshuffles are used to promote high performing ministers by moving them into positions with more responsibility, and to remove ministers who may be causing trouble for the prime minister or the government as a whole. Prime ministers and premiers can also reshuffle their governments to refresh the image of the executive and to introduce new faces.
However, reshuffles are not without their downsides. For example, reshuffles can make it difficult for ministers to build relationships with each other and can cause political rivals to be sent to the backbenches. This can reveal a weakness in the balance of power between a prime minister and their cabinet.
Reshuffles have been a central feature of the British political system for decades and their ubiquity in Westminster-type democracies around the world has made them something of a global model. They are well documented and the subject of much commentary, especially in the press. Yet there has been little research into how and why cabinet reshuffles occur or what effect they have on the effectiveness of government departments. This article aims to fill in that gap by exploring the motivations for and effects of cabinet reshuffles.
About the Author
