Description
Book SynopsisUnderstanding Governance asks:
* What has changed in British government over the past two decades, how and why?
* Why do so many government policies fail?
* What does the shift from government to governance mean for the practice and study of British government?
This book provides a challenging reinterpretation which interweaves an account of recent institutional changes in central, local and European Union government with methodological innovations and theoretical analysis. It emphasizes: the inability of the 'Westminster model', with its accent on parliamentary sovereignty and strong executive leadership, to account for persistent policy failure; the 'hollowing out' of British government from above (the European Union), below (special purpose bodies) and sideways (to agencies); and the need to respond to the postmodern challenge, rethinking the methodological and theoretical assumptions in the study of British government. Professor Rhodes makes a signi
Trade Review"...an important perspective that deserves reading, discussion and reflection." - Public Administration "Like most of Rod Rhodes' work, this is an interesting and stimulating work." - Talking Politics "...stimulating and full of insight." - Local Government Studies
Table of ContentsPreface
Part one: Introduction
Governing without government
order and change in British politics
Part two: Theory
Policy networks in British political science
The new governance
Part three: Methodology
The institutional approach
Part four: Applications
Reinventing Whitehall
the hollowing out of the state
Now nobody understands the system
the changing face of local government
The European Union, cohesion policy and sub-national authorities in the United Kingdom
Part five: Developments
From institutions to dogma
tradition, eclecticism and ideology in the study of British public administration
Towards a postmodern Public Administration
epoch, epistemology or narrative
Bibliography
Index.
