Policy Press

Putting Civil Society in Its Place

Governance, Metagovernance and Subjectivity

By Bob Jessop

Published

Mar 1, 2022

Page count

296 pages

Browse the series

Civil Society and Social Change

ISBN

978-1447354963

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Sep 23, 2020

Page count

296 pages

Browse the series

Civil Society and Social Change

ISBN

978-1447354956

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Sep 23, 2020

Page count

296 pages

Browse the series

Civil Society and Social Change

ISBN

978-1447354987

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Sep 23, 2020

Page count

296 pages

Browse the series

Civil Society and Social Change

ISBN

978-1447354987

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press
Putting Civil Society in Its Place

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.

Bob Jessop is Professor of Sociology at Lancaster University. He works on critical governance studies and welfare state restructuring and was previously involved in the WISERD Civil Society Research Centre.

1 Introduction

Part I: Complexity, contingency and governance

2 The governance of complexity and the complexity of governance

3 Governance failure, metagovernance and its failure

4 Semantic, institutional and spatio-temporal fixes

Part II: Locating civil society as a mode of governance

5 Locating the WISERD Project: Public policy governance towards common good

6 Locating civil society in Marx and Gramsci

7 Locating civil society in Foucault

Part III: Governance failure and metagovernance

8 The multispatial governance of social and economic policy

9 The dynamics of economic and social partnerships and governance failure

10 Competitiveness vs civil society as modes of governance

11 Conclusions