Jeremy Richardson

EU water policy: Uncertain agendas, shifting networks and complex coalitions

European Union (EU) water legislation is now very extensive in scope and has major cost implications for the member states, for the water industry, and for consumers. Although participation in the policy formulation process was fairly narrowly based in the early development of this programme of legislation, more recently participation has become more extended. The EU water policy process is an example of a rather loose and more open issue network or constellation of actors, rather than a closed and restricted policy community. It is, however, possible to identify a core of central actors within this loose configuration. Even so, the agenda setting process remains unpredictable and issues are processed via the interaction of a series of advocacy coalitions which link epistemic communities of scientists (especially toxicologists) into a wider and more visible political world. Because of the high salience of water policy throughout the Union, issue expansion, rather than issue contraction, is likely to remai...

Environmental groups and the EC: Challenges and opportunities

Even though the basic ‘rules of the game’ may be familiar to lobbyists at the national level, the EC policy process is in many ways unique. Its multi‐national, neo‐federal nature, the openness of decision‐making to lobbying, and the considerable weight of national politico‐administrative elites within the process create a rather unstable and multi‐dimensional environment to which all pressure groups must adapt. Environmental groups have at least three fundamental strengths in the context of this complex policy process ‐ a capacity to build European‐level coalitions in the form of Euro‐groups and umbrella organisations via the creation of cross‐national Euro‐level networks; an ability to contribute to European integration in the manner predicted by neo‐functionalist theory; and an ability to set the political agenda in the environmental sector. In contrast, they have several fundamental weaknesses ‐ they may be too dependent upon DG X1 and on the European Parliament; they may lack the resources or the will...

The market for political activism: Interest groups as a challenge to political parties

The emergence of new interest groups and social movements in the 1960s and 1970s facilitated a participation explosion in Western democracies. With increased levels of education and improved understanding of the workings of the political process, modern citizens are now faced with a vibrant and growing market for political activism. Political parties face an especially strong challenge in this market‐place as it appears that citizens now make a succession of participatory decision, akin to impulse buying in a supermarket. It is not surprising that the market share which traditional parties retain is apparently in decline. Whether this is problematic for democracy is more open to debate than conventional models of participation would suggest.

Doing less by doing more: British government 1979–1993

Britain has developed a long tradition of close co‐operation between government and interest groups, with the consequent erosion of the distinction between ‘public’ and ‘private’. However, the election of Mrs Thatchers Conservative Government in 1979 saw a determined challenge, both to established groups and to the established ‘policy style’. A new, more active and impositional style of government was attempted, with few institutions and organisations escaping scrutiny. The new approach was characterised by a desire to introduce new rules of the game in many policy areas, a determination to change organisational cultures in both the public and the private sectors, and a wish to change resource allocation mechanisms. Far from introducing a retreat of the state, this new policy style has seen a more interventionist and centralised state in operation. The system may have gyroscopic tendencies, however, in that a gradual return to more familiar state/society relations may be taking place.

Networks as models of analysis: Water policy in comparative perspective

Network models for analysing public policy have become widely used in recent years. This symposium assesses the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries and the European Union. Water policy is an important and increasingly salient subject, and the networks involved in the sector have altered recently in important fashions. Thus the topic is suitable for investigations of network dynamics and their impacts. In this article, some of the most significant lines of contribution to network research are reviewed, and the network concept is clarified. Preliminary assessments of the utility and limitations of network analysis are presented. In particular, it is argued that the network emphasis offers some analytical advantages in understanding policy processes. Network characteristics and some dimensions of network variability are sketched. Particular attention is paid to the dimension for whic...

Water policy‐making in England and Wales: Policy communities under pressure?

Over a 20‐year period the nature of the water policy process in England and Wales has changed quite radically. Contrasting and contradictory images of the policy process can be constructed, reflecting the episodic nature of the policy process. However, some long‐term trends are discernible. Policy network concepts (particularly policy communities) have been helpful in understanding some of these changes, but the model has significant limitations in accounting for sector‐level policy change. Moreover, institutional reform and institutional structures have proved to be important in creating both constraints and opportunities for different policy actors. In general, the sector has become more open, more conflictual, and a wider range of interests, concerns, and ideas have been drawn into the policy process. All of these changes have taken place in the context of the increasing Europeanisation of policy‐making ‐ itself the biggest challenge to conventional analysis of British policy‐making.