EDWARD C. PAGE is Sidney and Beatrice Webb Professor of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. VINCENT WRIGHT, sometime Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, UK.

• Introduction: From the Active to the Enabling State; E.C.Page & V.Wright A Case of Amateurs and Professionals: The Role of the Greek Senior Civil Service; D.A.Sotiropoulos The Changing Role of the Austrian Civil Service: The Impact of Politicisation, Public Sector Reform, and Europeanization; W.C.Müller From Incremental to Copernican Reform?: Changes to the Position and Role of Senior Civil Servants in the Belgian Federal Administration; M.Brans & T.Steen Italian Democracy under Threat?: The Spoils System in Historical Perspective; P.Mattei The Changing Role of the Senior Civil Service in Dutch National Government; F.M.van der Meer & J.C.N.Raadschelders French Top Civil Servants Within Changing Configurations: From Monopolization to Contested Places and Roles?; P.Bezes & P.Le Lidec German Officials and the Federal Policy Process: The Decline of Sectional Leadership; K.Goetz The Changing Role of the British Senior Civil Service: Challenge and Reform; C.Sausman & R.Locke From Managing The State To Managing Contingencies: Changing Roles Of The Senior Civil Service In Sweden; J.Pierre Conclusions: The Demystification of High Bureaucratic Office; E.C.Page & V.Wright