This book focuses on the everyday life of ministers and senior public servants in different countries, describing the world through their eyes. It explores how their beliefs, practices and traditions create meaning in politics and public policy making. It provides unique data on life of politicians and practical advice on how to conduct fieldwork.

'This volume provides a distinctive and innovative insight into...important issues based on ethnographic approaches that political scientists typically eschew. The scholarship is uniformly high, as would be expected from such a distinguished cohort of contributors. I would have no hesitation in recommending this work to all scholars with an interest in the broad field.' - Michael Cole, University of Liverpool, Political Studies Review