Suchergebnisse

Abstract
The modernisation of welfare states is high on the agenda of many European nations. The so-called 'anglo-saxon' model plays an important, but contradictory, symbolic role, as both a template for reform and as a symbol of the problems of neo-liberal governance. Rather than viewing the UK as an exemplar of neo liberalism, this paper highlights the unstable mix of governance styles at stake in welfare reform. It highlights current trends in the attempt to remake relationships between government and people around new conceptions of citizenship and community and the fostering of new aspirations and opportunities. It then explores the implications for issues of governance around the themes of welfare, work and citizenship. Finally the paper identifies some problems inherent in new discourses of the social - including social inclusion and social investment - that are at the core of welfare state modernisation strategies in the UK and beyond.

It is widely acknowledged that network governance is an increasingly significant feature of modern states.This article focuses on the cultural processes of attachment and identification that are formed in the spaces opened up in the 'differentiated polity' (Rhodes, 1997) of network governance. It explores the constitution of new subject positions – as 'transformational leaders' – for senior public service managers. The empirical data, drawn from interviews with senior public service managers in the UK, highlights tensions in the process of state modernization, and suggests ways in which 'transformational' identities might be influential in shaping the micro-politics of policy delivery.

This article explores accountability as a socially constructed and contested concept. The increasing significance of network governance, in which responsibility for policy making and delivery is shared across organisational boundaries, renders traditional concepts of accountability problematic. New regulatory mechanisms are being introduced in an attempt to hold actors to account; but at the same time, the article argues, it is important to trace how actors themselves are constructing and reworking practical concepts of accountability to guide their everyday decision-making. The article draws on data from group discussions and interviews with public service managers in the UK to explore constructions of accountability in the ambiguous terrain of network governance, and highlights some of the fault lines emerging across this complex field of power.

This paper argues that the study of social policy can be enriched by a greater focus on the dynamics of the policy process itself. Such a focus needs to transcend the usual descriptive accounts of institutions and implementation methods. The paper draws on a range of theoretical approaches that illuminate the shaping and delivery of policy, from classic theories of power and the state to analyses of the micro-dynamics of the policy–action relationship. The paper explores the contribution of recent developments in governance theory, and assesses contemporary debates about the 'modernisation' of the policy process and the focus on evaluating 'what works' in social policy.