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What Kind of Democracy Is This?: Politics in a Changing World
By Matthew Flinders. 2017
Has there ever been a period in modern history when democratic politics seemed more unpredictable or unruly? The old rules…
by which politics was once both ordered and understood have waned, in the face of a set of global challenges almost beyond control or comprehension. In terms of understanding these challenges, there are very few commentators who can run the gamut from democracy to disgust, from the micro to the macro and from love to loathing. And yet this is exactly what Matthew Flinders delivers, expertly ranging across topics including architecture, art, fell running and fairy tales in an attempt to understand the emerging democratic landscape. Linking academic scholarship with popular culture, this refreshing and stimulating book seeks to provoke and inform in equal measure.Challenging choices: Ideology, consumerism and policy
By Michael Clarke. 2010
Choice pervades our society: it is founded on political rights to choose and our economy on market choices, but we…
have now reached the point where choice is extended almost everywhere. This lively and topical book provides a critique of choice in contemporary society and policy, arguing that we can have too much of a good thing. And there are alternatives. In part one, the author shows how choice works at a personal level, its demands, and how it can fail. By examining healthcare, education and pensions, he then explores the alternatives, such as provision. In part two the book reviews the impact of choice through the life cycle, in areas such as careers, relationships fertility, retirement and death. The author considers whether this enhances or burdens our lives, and questions the assumption that more choice is always for the better.Policy Analysis in Taiwan (International Library of Policy Analysis ,5)
By Yu-Ying Kuo. 2018
The study of policy analysis in Taiwan began in the 1970s; however while other countries have recognised the need for…
detailed examination of the theory and practice of policy analysis at different levels of government, Taiwanese studies have remained limited. This book brings together for the first time a team of experienced and highly respected researchers from across Taiwan with expertise in policy analysis theory and practice in specific areas of government as well as in non-governmental organisations. This is a well-structured volume which will be highly relevant for students and academics interested in understanding and analysing politics and policy making in Taiwan. Features of the ILPA series include: • a country-specific systematic study of policy analysis systems by government and non-governmental actors • a history of the country’s policy analysis, empirical case studies and a comparative overview of alternative approaches • a key reference collection for research and teaching in comparative policy analysis and policy studiesFrom Greed to Wellbeing: A Buddhist Approach to Resolving Our Economic and Financial Crises
By Joel Magnuson. 2016
Despite our fitful attempts over decades at reform, the global financial system seems caught in cycles of boom and bust,…
instability, and scandal. In this timely new book, Joel Magnuson builds on the classic works of E. F. Schumacher and other kindred spirits to provide a Buddhist economics perspective on this recurring pattern, and offers new possibilities for real change. The book centers on the belief that greed, aggression, and delusion (Buddhism’s “three poisons”) are embedded within our financial institutions and that they perpetuate the continued widespread attachment to endless economic growth and financial accumulation that are responsible for social and ecological malaise. Arguing that mainstream economics fails to adequately address this cycle, Magnuson presents a new framework of Buddhist economics, helping readers gain a deeper understanding of current economic problems and offering a course toward genuine wellbeing.City Regions and Devolution in the UK: The Politics of Representation (Civil Society and Social Change)
By Martin Jones, David Beel. 2021
ePDF and ePUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. In recent years, the ‘city region’ has seen a renaissance as…
the de facto spatial centre of governance for economic and social development. Rich in case study insights, this book provides a critique of city-region building and considers how governance restructuring shapes the political, economic, social and cultural geographies of devolution. Reviewing the Greater Manchester, Sheffield, Swansea Bay City Regions, Cardiff Capital Region and the North Wales Growth Deal, the authors address the tensions and opportunities for local elites and civil society actors. Based on original empirical material, situated within cutting edge academic and policy debates, this book is a timely and lively engagement with the shifting geographies of economic and social development in Britain.Policy Analysis in the Czech Republic (International Library of Policy Analysis ,8)
By Arnošt Veselý, Martin Nekola, Eva M. Hejzlarová. 2018
Policy Analysis in the Czech Republic is a vital addition to the International Library of Policy Analysis series. It is…
not only the first comprehensive overview of the historical development and current state of policy analysis in the Czech Republic, but also in the post-communist Central and Eastern European region. As such, it provides a unique picture of policy analysis that in many respects profoundly differs from 'Western' policy analysis textbooks. Written by leading experts in the field – including practitioners – it outlines the historical development of policy analysis, identifies its role in academic education and research, and examines its varying styles and methods. This unique book offers indispensable reading for researchers, policy makers and students.Austerity, Community Action, and the Future of Citizenship
By Shana Cohen, Christina Fuhr and Jan-Jonathan Bock. 2017
The politics of austerity has seen governments across Europe cut back on welfare provision. As the State retreats, this edited…
collection explores secular and faith-based grassroots social action in Germany and the United Kingdom that has evolved in response to changing economic policy and expanding needs, from basic items such as food to more complex means to move out of poverty. Bringing together scholars from different disciplines and practitioners in several areas of social intervention, the book explores how the conceptualization and constitutive practices of citizenship and community are changing because of the retreat of the State and the challenge of meeting social and material needs, creating new opportunities for local activism. The book provides new ways of thinking about social and political belonging and about the relations between individual, collective, and State responsibility.Policy Analysis in France (International Library of Policy Analysis ,11)
By Charlotte Halpern, Patrick Hassenteufel and Philippe Zittoun. 2018
Policy analysis in France lays the foundation for a more systematic understanding of policy analysis in the country. In doing…
so, the volume discusses the role of the State and its restructuring, processes of government and governance, and State-Society relationships and policies as both a process and an outcome. Through 18 chapters contributions focus on policymakers, their practices, ideas and discourses, how they engage in sustained relationships with a large variety of market and society actors, and the concrete devices they use in order to make policy objectives operational. This is a comprehensive study of policy analysis in France that will be valuable to academics and postgraduate students researching and studying a range of policy and public management areas.The Struggle for Social Sustainability: Moral Conflicts in Global Social Policy
By Christopher Deeming. 2021
The ongoing social crises and moral conflicts evident in global social policy debates are addressed in this timely volume. Leading…
interdisciplinary scholars focus on the ‘social’ of social policy, which is increasingly conceived in a globalised form, as new international agreements and global goals engender social struggles. They tackle pressing ‘social questions’, many of which have been exacerbated by COVID-19, including growing inequality, changing world population, ageing societies, migration and intersectional disadvantage. This ground-breaking volume critically engages with contested conceptions of the social which are increasingly deployed by international institutions and policy makers. Focusing on social sustainability, social cohesion, social justice, social wellbeing and social progress this text is even more crucial as policy makers look to accelerate socially sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.The Collaborating Planner?: Practitioners in the Neoliberal Age
By Mark Tewdwr-Jones, Ben Clifford. 2014
Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been a greater pace of reform to planning in Britain than…
at any other time. As a public sector activity, planning has also been impacted heavily by the wider changes in the way we are governed. Yet whilst such reform has been extensively commented upon within academia, few have empirically explored how these changes are manifesting themselves in planning practice. This new book aims to understand how both specific planning and broader public sector reforms have been experienced and understood by chartered town planners working in local authorities across Great Britain. After setting out the reform context, successive chapters then map responses across the profession to the implementation of spatial planning, to targets, to public participation and to the idea of a 'customer-focused' planning, and to attempts to change the culture of the planning. Each chapter outlines the reaction by the profession to reforms promoted by successive central and devolved governments over the last decade, before considering the broader issues of what this tells us about how modernisation is rolled-out by frontline public servants. This accessible book fills a gap in the market and makes ideal reading for students and researchers interested in the UK planning system.Family futures: Childhood and poverty in urban neighbourhoods
By Anne Power, Helen Willmot. 2011
Family life in areas of concentrated poverty and social problems is undermined by surrounding conditions. This timely book, by acclaimed…
author Anne Power and her team, is based on a unique longitudinal study of over 200 families interviewed annually over the last decade. It examines the initiatives introduced to help such families and the impacts on them, their future prospects and the implications for policy. Accessibly written and with clear data presentation, the book will have wide appeal to people who work with, live in and care about families, children and low-income areas.Renowned social and political theorist Bob Jessop explores the idea of civil society as a mode of governance in this…
bold challenge to current thinking. Developing theories of governance failure and metagovernance, the book analyses the limits and failures of economic and social policy in various styles of governance. Reviewing the principles of self-emancipation and self-responsibilisation it considers the struggle to integrate civil society into governance, and the power of social networks and solidarity within civil society. With case studies of mobilisations to tackle economic and social problems, this is a comprehensive review of the factors that influence their success and identifies lessons for future social innovation.Reimagining Homelessness: A Blueprint for Policy and Practice
By Eoin O'Sullivan. 2020
The number of people experiencing homelessness is rising in the majority of advanced western economies. Responses to these rising numbers…
are variable but broadly include elements of congregate emergency accommodation, long-term supported accommodation, survivalist services and degrees of coercion. It is evident that these policies are failing. Using contemporary research, policy and practice examples, this book uses the Irish experience to argue that we need to urgently reimagine homelessness as a pattern of residential instability and economic precariousness regularly experienced by marginal households. Bringing to light stark evidence, it proves that current responses to homelessness only maintain or exacerbate this instability rather than arrest it and provides a robust evidence base to reimagine how we respond to homelessness.The Gilets Jaunes and the New Social Contract
By Charles Devellennes. 2021
This book provides a lively account of the gilets jaunes, the yellow vest movement that has shaken France since 2018.…
Charles Devellennes assesses what lessons can be drawn from their activities and the impact for the contemporary relationship between state and citizen. Informed by a dialogue with past political theorists – from Hobbes, Spinoza and Rousseau to Rawls, Nozick and Diderot – and reflecting on the challenges posed by the yellow vest movement, the author rethinks the concept of the social contract for contemporary societies around the world. It proposes a new relationship between the state and the individual, and establishes the necessity of rethinking the modern democratic nature of our representative polities in order to provide a genuine process for the healing of social ills.The ‘Bedroom Tax’ has been one of the most contentious aspects of the UK government’s austerity politics. In this book…
Kelly Bogue provides an authoritative assessment of its social impacts. Harnessing personal stories from one estate, The Divisive State of Social Policy traces the links between Housing Benefit reforms and inequality. It explores issues related to the Bedroom Tax including housing insecurity, poverty and damage to social networks. This is a vivid picture of the sharp end of austerity politics and welfare reform, and gets to the heart of the meanings of home and community in the UK today.The Shame of It: Global Perspectives on Anti-Poverty Policies
By Erika K. Gubrium ; Sony Pellissery ; Ivar Lødemel. 2013
The shame experienced by people living in poverty has long been recognised. Nobel laureate and economist, Amartya Sen, has described…
shame as the irreducible core of poverty. However, little attention has been paid to the implications of this connection in the making and implementation of anti-poverty policies. This important volume rectifies this critical omission and demonstrates the need to take account of the psychological consequences of poverty for policy to be effective. Drawing on pioneering empirical research in countries as diverse as Britain, Uganda, Norway, Pakistan, India, South Korea and China, it outlines core principles that can aid policy makers in policy development. In so doing, it provides the foundation for a shift in policy learning on a global scale and bridges the traditional distinctions between North and South, and high-, middle- and low-income countries. This will help students, academics and policy makers better understand the reasons for the varying effectiveness of anti-poverty policies.International Human Rights, Social Policy and Global Development: Critical Perspectives
By Gerard McCann and Féilim Ó Hadhmaill. 2020
With international human rights under challenge, this book represents a comprehensive critique that adds a social policy perspective to recent…
political and legalistic analysis. Expert contributors draw on local and global examples to review constructs of universal rights and their impact on social policy and human welfare. With thorough analysis of their strengths, weaknesses and enforcement, it sets out their role in domestic and geopolitical affairs. Including a forward by Albie Sachs, this book presents an honest appraisal of both the concepts of international human rights and their realities. It will engage those with an interest in social policy, ethics, politics, international relations, civil society organisations and human rights-based approaches to campaigning and policy development.Understanding Social Security 3e: Issues for Policy and Practice (Understanding Welfare: Social Issues, Policy and Practice)
By Jane Millar and Roy Sainsbury. 2018
The political and economic landscape of UK social security provision has changed significantly since the 2008 financial crisis. This fully…
revised, restructured and updated 3rd edition of a go-to text book covers all the key policy changes and their implications since the elections of 2010 and 2015. With contributions from leading academics in the field this book critically examines the design, entitlement, delivery and impact of current welfare provision. The first half of the book examines social security across the lifecycle from Child Benefit to retirement pensions. The second half focuses on key issues in policy and practice including new topics such as the realities of life on benefits in an era of austerity, and the pros and cons of Universal Basic Income. • Framework supports teachers and students, encouraging analytical thinking of issues and providing pointers to related sources • Authoritative and evidence-based arguments • Clear section and chapter summaries, overviews, questions for discussion, website resources and a bibliography • Includes tables, charts and text boxes for clarity, interest and appeal This book is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Social Policy taking modules on Social Security Policy, Poverty and Inequality, Income Support and Welfare Reform, as well as Social Work students and those on other Social Science degree programmes.Infrastructure in Africa: Lessons for Future Development
By Mthuli Ncube & Charles Leyeka Lufumpa. 2017
Good infrastructure is essential for socio-economic growth and sustainable development. Safe and accessible water supplies, reliable energy, good transport networks…
and communications technology are all vital to a region’s development agenda. This book presents a comprehensive exploration of the state of infrastructure in Africa and provides an integrated analysis of the challenges the sector faces, based on extensive fieldwork across the continent. Contributors with a wide range of expertise challenge current policy, practice and thinking on issues including the politics of infrastructure development, social inclusion, domestic resource mobilisation and infrastructure financing. The book will be an important resource for academic researchers, students and early career development professionals as well as policymakers and NGOs engaged in dialoguing the infrastructure development options for Africa.Promoting Walking and Cycling: New Perspectives on Sustainable Travel
By Colin G Pooley. 2013
Promoting walking and cycling proposes solutions to one of the most pressing problems in contemporary British transport planning. The need…
to develop more sustainable urban mobility lies at the heart of energy and environmental policies and has major implications for the planning of cities and for the structure of economy and society. However, most people feel either unable or unwilling to incorporate travel on foot or by bike into their everyday journeys. This book uses innovative quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine in depth, and in an international and historical context, why so many people fail to travel in ways that are deemed by most to be desirable. It proposes evidence-based policy solutions that could increase levels of walking and cycling substantially. This book is essential reading for planners and policy makers developing and implementing transport policies at both national and local levels, plus researchers and students in the field of mobility, transport, sustainability and urban planning.