Politics and International Relations - All titles

In the second, revised edition of this indispensable book, the author looks behind 'the mirror of power' to discover the reality of civil society - or 'Big Society', as it has become known.

Policy makers have become reliant on mechanistic top-down audit and inspection regimes as the means of implementing public service reforms. This book sets out to redress the balance. It outlines the theory behind whole systems development and gives good practice guidance on how to effectively develop 'systems' to improve joined-up working.

The widespread popularity of evaluation is based on the need to provide evidence of the effectiveness of policies and programmes. This book sees evaluation as an inherently political activity, and using a wide range of examples it relates practical issues in evaluation design to their political contexts.

This book offers a critical examination of both the discourse and practice of participation in order to understand the significance of this explosion in participatory forums, and the extent to which such practices represent a fundamental change in governance.

This valuable book offers a distinct and critical showcase of emerging forms of discovery for policy-making drawing on the insights of some of the world’s leading authorities in public policy analysis.

Informed by twenty years’ experience as a school governor, Jacqueline Baxter considers what implications the 2014 ‘Trojan Horse’ scandal has had for the future of a democratic system of education in England.

This is the first part of a two-volume work which will provide an authoritative UK-wide account from the initial settlement under New Labour in 1997 to Brexit and its aftermath. This first volume offers a refreshing and rigorous analysis of the period 1997-2007, setting a new agenda for thinking on devolution.

In this comprehensive account, Janice Morphet analyses the role and use of outsourcing within the UK public sector since the mid-1970s and illustrates the impact it has had on ideology, policy narratives and public expectations in the present.

This book explores how race, sexuality and gender are employed in political projects of belonging, whilst examining the implications for individual identity formation, in the context of Sweden.

Collaborative working explores the influence of agency through the role of individual actors in collaborative working processes, known as boundary spanners. 

This book analyses experiences of partnerships in different policy fields, identifying theoretical and practical impediments to making partnership work and evaluating the implications for those involved. It also addresses other key forms of collaboration between voluntary, private and statutory sectors, service users and community groups.

Combining theory and international practice,this book examines how local government can develop active citizens and make a difference to the well-being of those in disadvantaged areas.