Policy Press

Democracy, power and governance

In these politically turbulent times, questions about democracy, power and society are frequently raised. How does power work in society? Can we ever achieve equal rights when the power dynamics in society are so skewed?

With the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions in focus, our publishing in this area addresses questions like these from multiple angles, from extensive research into democratic governance and the concept of political power, to the role of power between different nations in foreign policy negotiations.

Bristol University Press and Policy Press are signed up to the UN SDG Publishers Compact. In Democracy, power and governance, we aim to address the following goal:

SDG Publishers compact logoSDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

Showing 73-84 of 558 items.

The Waste of the World

Consumption, Economies and the Making of the Global Waste Problem

Examining the root causes of the global waste problem, this book challenges existing policies, highlighting what needs to change if we are to get serious in tackling this global problem. It concludes with policy implications for shifting waste from an ‘end-of-pipe’ concern to being at the heart of the debate over decarbonisation.

Bristol Uni Press

Managing Risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Global Policies, Narratives and Practices

This book provides an accessible guide to the key elements of risk in policy making and shows how its use and misuse has shaped policy makers’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in a range of countries.

Policy Press

Creating an Ecosocial Welfare Future

A uniquely hybrid approach to welfare state policy, ecological sustainability and social transformation, this book explores transformative models of welfare change. Using Ireland as a case study, it addresses the institutional adaptations needed to move towards a sustainable welfare state.

Policy Press

Who’s Afraid of Political Education?

The Challenge to Teach Civic Competence and Democratic Participation

Edited by Henry Tam

Experts on learning for democracy come together to explore why and how the gap in civic competence should be bridged. They make the case for a more effective form of political education that can enable citizens to learn to exert their influence over their government in an informed and meaningful manner.

Policy Press

The What Works Centres

Lessons and Insights from an Evidence Movement

Leaders, researchers and practitioners from the UK “What Works Network” share their insights on the successes, failures, and future of the What Works Centres, which have proven successful and popular across a number of policy settings.

Policy Press

Analysing the History of British Social Welfare

Compassion, Coercion and Beyond

This book offers insights into the development of social welfare policies in Britain. By identifying continuities in welfare policy, practice and thought throughout history, it offers the potential for the development of new thinking, policy making and practice.

Policy Press

The Essence of Interstate Leadership

Debating Moral Realism

Bringing together eminent International Relations (IR) scholars from China and the West, this book examines moral realism from a range of different perspectives. Through its analyses, it verifies the robustness of moral realism in IR theory.

Bristol Uni Press

The Life of a Number

Measurement, Meaning and the Media

Drawing on case studies, this book examines how politicians, academics and journalists gave meaning to data during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawson sheds light on the distinct nature of the pandemic that led to the increased politicization of data and how it permanently changed the way we view health and society more broadly.

Bristol Uni Press

Taxing Democracy

Local Taxation and the Social Contract in America

Carrie Manning’s illuminating book examines how policies to limit taxation at state and local levels in the US have direct and lasting consequences for equity, accountability, and ultimately for democracy.

Bristol Uni Press

Philanthropic Response to Disasters

Gifts, Givers and Consequences

This book is a step toward curating our existing knowledge in the emerging field of ‘disaster philanthropy’. It aims to build a robust base for future research, practice and public policy, whilst recognising that philanthropic responses to disasters are complex, conditional and subject to change.

Policy Press

What Is War For?

This book examines how changes to social rules reshape how states explain their military actions, and changes to technology and society transform contemporary warfare. Analysing the role that war serves in global politics, it outlines the ways in which war affects the contemporary world, from international relations to our day-to-day lives.

Bristol Uni Press

Humour and Politics in Africa

Beyond Resistance

This book examines the relationship between humour and politics in Africa. Moving beyond the idea of humour as a mode of resistance, the book investigates the ‘political work’ that humour does and explores the complex entanglements in which the politics, practices and performances of humour are located.

Bristol Uni Press


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