Modes of state governance, populist pressures and public sector reform

Flinders, Matthew and Huggins, Christopher (2020) Modes of state governance, populist pressures and public sector reform. In: Public value management, governance and reform in Britain. Palgrave Macmillan, London, UK, pp. 87-114. ISBN 9783030555856

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Abstract

The traditional account of political authority and policy-making in the United Kingdom offers a simplistic picture of governance. Under the ‘Westminster model’ governance capacity is seen to be centralised in a strong executive which dominates legislative and policy-making processes and exercises control through a unitary state. In recent decades this model has come under strain due to the widespread delegation of tasks, functions and responsibilities away from the direct control of national politicians. In this chapter the changing topography of the state is mapped through the analysis of two specific modes or ‘types’ of multi-level governance which, in turn, offers empirical evidence that underpins concerns regarding unintended consequences, particularly around public values by highlighting control-dilemmas, complexity questions and confusion in relation to accountability. This chapter suggests that these unintended consequences have played a role in fuelling the emergence of populist pressures in ways that have generally not been acknowledged in analyses that have focused on economic and cultural rather than bureaucratic factors.

Item Type: Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords: governance, populism, complexity, multi-level governance, accountability
Subjects: J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain
Divisions: Faculty of Arts, Business & Applied Social Science > Department of Applied Social Sciences
Depositing User: Christopher Huggins
Date Deposited: 02 Jul 2020 08:17
Last Modified: 02 Dec 2020 12:51
URI: https://oars.uos.ac.uk/id/eprint/1298

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