Cabinet Ministers and the Dynamic Architectures of Executive Power: Types of Ministerial Turnover in Democratic Regimes

Ministerial turnover marks a ubiquitous phenomenon in executive politics. Ministers come and go; some have extended tenures, while others enjoy just a brief stint in office. Moreover, some ministers circulate between departments, while others remain in the same ministry for the whole of their tenure. Across democratic countries and systems of government, there is a large variation of ministerial careers and features of ministerial turnover, the latter being widely referred to as cabinet reshuffles. However, to date, the literature on cabinet reshuffles has focused almost exclusively on the timing of reshuffles, neglecting other important aspects. Furthermore, the bulk of studies available has strongly centred on Westminster systems and the presidential governments of Latin America. This paper seeks to fill some of the major gaps marking the field. The central aim is to systematize the study of ministerial turnover and their key features through the development of an encompassing yet parsimonious classification, or taxonomy. The paper addresses the following dimensions of reshuffles: scope; dynamic; partisan dimension; timing; and principals (i.e., president, prime minister, party); further, we also seek to account for voluntary dismissals of individual ministers which have been largely ignored in previous research. In regional terms, the inductive study draws on empirical evidence from around the globe (covering parliamentary, semi-presidential, and presidential democracies). Key findings are expected to advance the debate about the politics of cabinet reshuffles and their consequences in terms of both politics and policy.