## Notes from 30 October 2025 [[2025-10-29|← Previous note]] ┃ [[2025-10-31|Next note →]] Discovered a super interesting podcast: _[Crossing Channels](https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/crossing-channels/)_, a joint production between the [Bennett Institute for Public Policy](https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/) (Cambridge) and the [Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse](https://www.iast.fr/). The first episode, _"[Why has it become so hard to run government?](https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/government-decision-making/)"_, features [Dennis Grube](https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/about-us/person/dennis-grube/) (Bennett Institute), [Mohamed Saleh](https://www.tse-fr.eu/people/mohamed-saleh) (Toulouse School of Economics), and [Catherine Haddon](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/person/catherine-haddon) (Institute for Government). The UK-France comparative lens is very refreshing. Catherine Haddon notes that continental Europe has a healthier relationship with the concept of public administration—whereas in the UK, "bureaucracy" has become almost a dirty word, shaped by cultural artifacts like _Yes, Minister_. Very nice to look at someone indicating the impact of culture on the way we think about government (it reminds me of the [[2025-05-18|Bureaucritics]] newsletter). Mohamed Saleh adds that France traditionally maintains a stronger image of the state as a neutral agent separate from politicians (in comparison to the UK), though this trust has eroded with perceptions of elite capture by _grandes écoles_ graduates—something that was on top of the government's agenda after the yellow vests demonstrations that led to the closure of ENA. Dennis Grube raises a fundamental question that resonates a lot with my own research: governments keep calling for civil service reform, but "I'm never quite sure that we have decided exactly what the question is". Are civil servants meant to be co-creators of policy (which means that they can have very different ideas on policy than the elected politicians), or simply implementers (leaving policy discussion to the democratic arena)? The answer shapes everything. Worth following! The interdisciplinary approach (economics, political science, history) and the cross-Channel perspective seem well suited to the kind of comparative public administration questions I love to follow.