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Difficulty: MediumThe Civil Service: Characteristics, Organization, and Functions

Despite frequent changes in political administration following democratic elections, government ministries continue their daily operations under non-elected career officials who retain their appointments. Which essential feature of the civil service guarantees this institutional continuity?

  1. PermanenceAnswer
  2. B
    Political neutrality
  3. C
    Anonymity
  4. D
    Executive immunity

Answer

Permanence
Permanence ensures that civil servants hold regular, pensionable career appointments with security of tenure. This allows the administrative bureaucracy to remain intact and operational regardless of political turnover.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the core requirement of the question stem.
The stem describes institutional continuity of administrative staff across changes in political leadership.
Identifying the functional requirement allows matching it to the correct civil service characteristic.
2
Differentiate between civil service characteristics.
Permanence guarantees security of tenure for career officials irrespective of political shifts, whereas neutrality and anonymity govern partisan behavior and public accountability respectively.
Security of tenure is the specific mechanism ensuring stability in public administration.

Key Concept

Characteristics of the Civil Service (Permanence of Tenure)
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Topics

The Civil Service: Characteristics, Organization, and Functions

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