Undoing the cabinets ministériels. A scoping review on “decabinetisation” in Napoleonic systems

Unlike Westminster systems, Napoleonic countries featuring ministerial cabinets, such as Belgium or France, have a long tradition of “cabinetisation”. In the last 25 years, researchers have observed a trend whereby in those political systems, some have begun to question the size and prominence of ministerial cabinets in the core executive. This paper seeks to understand where and why such reverse process of “decabinetisation” is taking place. Through a systematic scoping review, in both English and French, it maps 98 articles on ministerial cabinets and analyses 21 articles addressing the recent question of cabinet reforms.