Gerry Stoker

Governance as theory: five propositions

Science in the Department of Government, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1XQ, UK, email: G.stokerK strathclyde.ac.uk His main research interests are in local government, urban politics, and cross-national policy transfer. Between 1992 and 1997 he was Director of the ESRC Local Governance Research Programme. He has authored or edited over a dozen books. His two most recent publications are: Rethinking Local Democracy, 1996 (edited with D. King) and The Privatisation of Urban Services in Europe, 1997 (edited with D. Lorrain). Governance as theory: five propositions

PUBLIC VALUE MANAGEMENT: A NEW NARRATIVE FOR NETWORKED GOVERNANCE?

The aim of this article is to clarify the nature of the management style most suited to the emergence of networked governance. The paradigms of traditional public administration and new public management sit uncomfortably with networked governance. In contrast, it is argued the public value management paradigm bases its practice in the systems of dialogue and exchange that characterize networked governance. Ultimately, the strength of public value management is seen to rest on its ability to point to a motivational force that does not solely rely on rules or incentives to drive public service practice and reform. People are, it suggests, motivated by their involvement in networks and partnerships, that is, their relationships with others formed in the context of mutual respect and shared learning. Building successful relationships is the key to networked governance and the core objective of the management needed to support it.

THE EVOLUTION OF URBAN REGIME THEORY The Challenge of Conceptualization

Urban regime theory came to prominence with the publication of Clarence Stone’s study of Atlanta in 1989, although earlier work by Fainstein and Fainstein (1983) and Elkin (1987) has also been influential. Since then, regime analysis has been extensively used to examine urban politics both inside North America and beyond. The authors argue that the wide use of regime analysis is a recognition of its value and insights but that some applications have stretched the concept beyond its original meaning to the point that the concept itself runs the risk of becoming meaningless and a source of theoretical confusion. By sifting through the extensive literature applying regime theory, the authors reestablish the core components of the concept and identify the key fields where it has made a contribution. It is suggested that regime analysis has helped considerably in reorienting the power debate in North America and in facilitating the analysis of politics beyond the formal institutions of the government outside North America.

Urban regime theory in comparative perspective

The urban literature has devoted increasing attention to cross-national comparison of urban change and governance. What is lacking, however, is the development of conceptual frameworks that are adequate to embrace the greater variation in conditions encountered in cross-national research, compared with conditions within a single country. Without such a framework, comparison remains an exercise in depicting unique and unrelated cases. Urban regime theory holds potential for explaining the variety of arrangements through which policymakers in cities have coped with change, because of its sensitivity to local conditions and local actors. Its essential contribution is to focus attention on the collective action problems that have to be overcome for effective urban governance to emerge. The nature of the collective action challenge varies according to the purpose, composition, and position of potential regime partners. Substantial differences in motivating factors must be taken into account in order to apply regime analysis cross-nationally. Drawing upon differences already identified in the regime literature, the authors propose a typology of organic, instrumental, and symbolic regimes.

The politics of local government

The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in political and ideological conflict in local government. This book analyzes this context and examines both the operation of elected local authorities and the rise of a complex and fragmented non-directly elected local governement. It examines key issues in detail and concludes with a critical assessment of theories of the local state and an examination of future trends.

Public-Private Partnerships and Urban Governance

In postwar Western democracies the ‘traditional’ image of urban government is as the direct provider of welfare and other services. The image of ‘modern’ urban government is as an enabler, a catalytic agent facilitating provision and action by and through others. In the words of Osborne and Gaebler (1992) this ‘reinvented’ form of government is more about steering and less about rowing. The focus on Public-Private partnerships in this volume reflects a concern with this shift in the working of urban government. Partnerships were always an element in the activities of postwar urban governments. Yet the increased use of partnership appears to be part of a broader shift in the process of governing.

The new management of British local governance

This book presents a detailed analysis of the new management of public services at the local level, drawing on the work of the ESRC Local Governance Programme. The radical transformation of public service delivery is assessed in terms of its overall impact as well as its operation in particular service areas. Efficiency has improved and services have gained a user focus yet the new management appears to be full of contradictions and distortions, in many respects creating as many problems as it solves

Rethinking local democracy

The transformation of British local government into a new and complex system of local governance raises fundamental theoretical questions as well as empirical ones. Rethinking Local Democracy argues that traditional defences of local government are no longer adequate and that the case for local autonomy and local democracy needs to be radically rethought. It brings together a set of specially-commissioned chapters by leading academics designed to stimulate and contribute to debate on these issues

Diagnosing and remedying the failings of official participation schemes: the CLEAR framework

Drawing on extensive research, the article proposes a diagnostic tool for assessing official schemes to encourage participation and discusses remedial measures that might be taken to tackle problems. According to the CLEAR framework, people participate when they can: when they have the resources necessary to make their argument. People participate when they feel part of something: they like to participate because it is central to their sense of identity. They participate when they are enabled to do so by an infrastructure of civic networks and organisations. People participate when they are directly asked for their opinion. Finally, people participate when they experience the system they are seeking to influence as responsive.

The future of local government

It is extraordinary to witness the degree of turmoil and uncertainty that continues to face local government. After years of post-war growth as a key arm of the welfare state, local government found its spending, role and ways of working under challenge from the mid-1970s onwards. The Labour administration under Wilson and then Callaghan started the process. The Thatcher administrations increased the momentum of change and engaged in a series of interventions of an intensity and scope which destabilised the whole system. Yet still no end to the process is in sight as in post-Thatcher Britain a major debate has been launched extending the agenda of change to such issues as the structure and size of local authorities. By the end of the 1990s a new dominant form of local government may have emerged and two decades or more of hange may give way to a period of stability. At the beginning of the 1990s, however, the future form of local government is unclear.