Suchergebnisse

This volume is the first collection in the field of wellbeing studies that places politics centre stage. Through a combination of intellectual inquiry, empirically-grounded research, and investigation across different settings, this book aims to provide fresh insights and develop new lenses through which to understand the rise and significance of the wellbeing agenda. Divided into three parts, it considers how to define wellbeing for public policy; the prospects for wellbeing as a force for political change; and the link between policy agendas and the everyday lives of people. The book explores the key political issues of power, democracy, and the legitimacy of wellbeing evidence in a range of settings - international, national and subnational/substate. The volume will appeal to wellbeing and politics scholars, as well as students and general readers with an interest in these new political agendas.--

Well-being has recently risen rapidly up the political agenda in Britain and beyond, signalled most clearly by Prime Minister Cameron's announcement in 2010 that well-being measures developed by the Office for National Statistics would be used to guide public policies. Here we seek to explain why well-being has risen up the British political agenda, drawing on Kingdon's multiple streams approach. While this approach has considerable merit, it does not acknowledge the complexity of multi-level governance in which policy, politics and problem streams can operate at different territorial levels. As such, we argue that the match between policy, politics and problem streams has to be not only temporal, but also spatial. The consequence is that, while in relation to measurement a paradigm shift may be taking place, in terms of decisive action there is some way to go before well-being can be described as 'an idea whose time has come'.

The relationship between inquiry-based learning (IBL) and international students is of rising importance in the UK in the context of a growing focus on the connection between research and teaching and the increasing number of overseas students. This article explores this relationship, drawing on the findings of research undertaken in a Department of Politics at a research-intensive UK university. It concludes by suggesting some possible ways forward for both students and staff in meeting the challenges of inquiry-based learning programmes.

This article considers the democratic qualities of multilevel governance at the stage of policy implementation closest to the ground, involving local residents and organizations. Drawing on a case study of the structural funds in South Yorkshire (United Kingdom), it puts forward three models of democracy through which to evaluate the democratic credentials of multilevel governance. The case study illustrates that among the expected complexity and technocracy at this stage of policymaking, there are also experiments in local democracy that have not previously been identified in the academic literature. As such, in the context of deep multilevel governance, there is evidence that while traditional mechanisms of accountability may be undermined, other mechanisms may provide a valuable alternative.

This article considers the role of ideas in New Labour's approach to the governance of urban regeneration and characterizes this approach as 'embryonic associationalism'. This approach contrasts with the economic rationalism of previous Conservative governments and leads to a more determined effort to empower local community groups within the policy process. We analyse the effects of this shift in approach in practice through a comparative case study of changing patterns of governance in different areas of the English city of Sheffield over a ten‐year period. We conclude that while other factors are important in shaping the nature of community empowerment, New Labour's approach has promoted a political environment in which it is increasingly difficult for local state actors to ignore the voice of local communities. However, while we refer to this as 'New Labour's approach', we are clear that this relates to a tradition of ideas that is far from new in Labour thought.

This article considers the democratic qualities of multilevel governance at the stage of policy implementation closest to the ground, involving local residents and organizations. Drawing on a case study of the structural funds in South Yorkshire (United Kingdom), it puts forward three models of democracy through which to evaluate the democratic credentials of multilevel governance. The case study illustrates that among the expected complexity and technocracy at this stage of policymaking, there are also experiments in local democracy that have not previously been identified in the academic literature. As such, in the context of deep multilevel governance, there is evidence that while traditional mechanisms of accountability may be undermined, other mechanisms may provide a valuable alternative. Adapted from the source document.

The utility of the notion of multi-level governance for examining governance within the contemporary British political context is considered. An overview of the difficulties encountered in applying the Westminster Model to studies of contemporary British politics is provided; the concept of multi-level governance is explored to highlight its potential advantages for investigating British politics, eg, its multi-level account of intergovernmental relations in the UK. Differences in the general principles & predominant internal & external dimensions between the Westminster Model & R. Rhodes' (1997) notion of differentiated polity are considered. As a result of this comparison, Rhodes' notion of the differentiated polity is used to replace the Westminster Model since it is capable of comprehending the changing nature of British politics, especially the modifications in intergovernmental relations & the disaggregation of centralized state power. Even though support for the UK's participation in a regional government has increased, it is stressed that the UK central government's authority has not completely subsided; the benefits of using a multi-level governance approach to exploring this reality are articulated. 1 Table, 1 Figure. J. W. Parker

The status of contemporary studies of multi-level governance, especially within the European Union, is explored. Overviews of the circumstances that made multi-level governance an integral component of the European Union's political systems during the late 1980s & of Gary Marks' (1992; 1993) seminal explorations of the notion of multi-level governance are provided. Seven issues concerning multi-level governance that European Union studies should address are highlighted including the need to establish a consensual definition of multi-level governance, the issue of whether multi-level governance encourages hierarchy within states, & the influence of multi-level governance upon states' democratic accountability. Several articles that investigate these issues are introduced. J. W. Parker

Contemporary literature that has examined the notion of multi-level governance, particularly its function within the European Union, is reviewed. Although multi-level governance provides an organizational framework characterized by the allocation of authority across multiple jurisdictions & by the capacity to respond to changes in public preferences, it is noted that such perspectives are problematized by their tendency to focus on specific issues. Several issues that contemporary literature has investigated are identified including the need to define multi-level governance, the consistency of multi-level governance across distinct policy sectors, the compatibility of democracy & multi-level governance, & the advantages & shortcomings of using multi-level governance as an analytic framework. Recommendations for enhancing multi-level governance both as a normative concept & as an analytic mechanism are also provided. J. W. Parker

The British State is currently being restructured through a process of constitutional and institutional reform. This process contributes to other changes that are creating an increasingly complex range of inter-governmental relationships of shifting and opaque jurisdictional boundaries together with a redefinition of state-society relations. In light of this, observers are increasingly making reference to an emergent system of 'multi-level governance' within Britain. The focus of this article is conceptual. The aim is to assess the value of multi-level governance as an analytical framework that can contribute to understanding the changing nature of the British State. In doing so, we identify and apply the two models or types of multi-level governance developed by Hooghe and Marks (2004). We conclude that while multi-level governance has its limitations, it has great potential as a contrastive concept when juxtaposed with the Westminster Model.