Clientelism and careerism in Irish local-government - the persecution of civil-servants revisited

Abstract

The relationship between elected politicians, local civil servants and the public has been a standard topic of Irish political science for decades. The usual characterisation of the relationship between the voter and the politician as being clientelistic is not questioned, but allegations that the civil servants are also involved in a clientelist network are challenged. Local bureaucrats are recruited in an apolitical manner and have career paths that render them independent of the classic local pressures.