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There are different theories about how “the centre” of government relates to other state and legislative institutions. The most popular comes from Donald Savoie, who suggests that a growing concentration of power at “the centre” detracts from government effectiveness and the quality of democracy. A contrasting vision comes from Ian Brodie who proposes that power is not substantially concentrated in the centre and, to the degree that this concentration exists, it is a necessary function of government.
This study probes these dynamics using public opinion data generated from artificial intelligence-backed research methods from Advanced Symbolics. It uses these advanced research methods to identify the degree to which public opinion diverges or aligns with debates about “the centre’s” relationship with other governmental organs. It also seeks to demonstrate how the new tools becoming available to political scientists and policy practitioners alike can be put to use to solve challenging questions of state.