Public Policy Disasters in Europe (Routledge Research in European Public Policy, 3)

This book considers some recent and spectacular failures in policy-making and asks what is meant by policy 'disaster', the different forms that they can take and why they have occured. These issues are explored in nine contrasting cases drawn from both the European Union and its member states. These include: the devastating crisis in the Belgium political system following the exposure of a paedophile ring; the crisis in the Dutch fight against drugs; 'Mad Cows', the 'Arms to Iraq' affair in the UK; monetary union between West and East Germany; the Swedish monetary crisis of 1992; and the EU's common fisheries policy and policies towards civil war in Yugoslavia. This book is an excellent study of how and why policies can go wrong and highlights the limits of what governments can achieve in Western Europe. BOOK COVER......Page 1 HALF-TITLE......Page 2 TITLE......Page 4 COPYRIGHT......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 8 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS......Page 9 SERIES EDITOR’S PREFACE......Page 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 13 A study of major failures......Page 16 The complexity of modern policy-making......Page 17 Ubiquitous pessimism about governance?......Page 20 Identifying policy disasters: towards a definition......Page 21 Errors or circumstances?......Page 24 Explaining policy disasters......Page 26 Blaming as a political process......Page 29 Comparative analysis......Page 30 References......Page 31 The crisis of the missing children and its aftermath......Page 36 Responsibility and blame......Page 38 Benign neglect......Page 40 Lack of opportunities......Page 41 The changing role of the press......Page 42 The politicization of the justice system......Page 43 Absence of control......Page 45 Dominant interests......Page 46 Reflections: when the judiciary slips, does democracy fail?......Page 48 Notes......Page 49 References......Page 50 A disastrous fight against organized crime......Page 52 The historical context......Page 53 The institutional context......Page 54 The crime-fighting process......Page 55 The Wierenga inquiry and its aftermath......Page 57 An institutional crisis......Page 59 The mass media and policy disasters......Page 61 Constructing a policy disaster......Page 64 Patterns of media coverage: intensity, focus, targets......Page 65 Accountability fora......Page 68 Conclusions......Page 69 References......Page 71 A policy disaster?......Page 76 A disastrous policy process?......Page 79 UK government: the politics of expertise......Page 80 UK government: the politics of implementation......Page 82 The European dimension......Page 83 Ideological explanations......Page 85 Institutional explanations......Page 86 Social and cultural theories......Page 87 Media-centred explanations......Page 88 Conclusion: learning lessons......Page 90 References......Page 91 Introduction......Page 94 Measures of disaster?......Page 95 Disastrous for whom?......Page 96 The 1950s: ‘pre-industrialization’......Page 97 The 1960s: state-sponsored industrialization......Page 98 The 1970s: crisis and change......Page 99 ‘Party government’......Page 101 The mafia and the political economy of the Mezzogiorno......Page 103 The culture of the Mezzogiorno......Page 105 Policy disaster or political disaster?......Page 106 Notes......Page 108 References......Page 109 Introduction......Page 112 A policy disaster?......Page 113 Explaining the failure of the currency union......Page 114 Why did the West German federal government opt for a quick currency union between the two German states?......Page 115 Why did the federal government endorse a high wage policy in post-1990 East Germany?......Page 119 ast Germany? .........Page 120 Why did the federal government opt for a rigid shock-therapy approach to privatization?......Page 123 The ingredients of disaster: power asymmetries, ideology and coping resources......Page 124 References......Page 127 Introduction......Page 130 A policy disaster?......Page 131 Background......Page 133 Exports to Iraq......Page 134 The public inquiry......Page 136 The inquiry report and after......Page 138 The Scott account: flawed decisions and constitutional weakness......Page 140 Alternative explanation 1: bureaucratic politics......Page 142 Alternative explanation 2: dominant interests......Page 145 Notes......Page 146 References......Page 148 Introduction......Page 150 A policy disaster?......Page 151 The ‘external constraints’ interpretation......Page 154 The ‘domestic politics’ interpretation......Page 156 The ‘cognition and policy process’ interpretation......Page 160 Disaster for whom?......Page 164 Notes......Page 165 References10......Page 166 Introduction......Page 170 The CFP as a policy disaster......Page 171 The evolution of the CFP......Page 173 Policy content......Page 176 Policy implementation......Page 179 Policy uncertainty and the problem of timing......Page 180 The ‘Tragedy of the commons’ problem and the consequences of implementation......Page 182 Vested interests and the nature of policy implementation......Page 183 European Union structure and policy sectoralization......Page 185 Conclusions......Page 187 References......Page 188 Introduction......Page 190 How bad is bad?......Page 191 Who or what brought the disaster about?......Page 193 The phases of European involvement......Page 195 The consequences of EC foreign and security policy......Page 197 The choice of policy instruments legitimizes third parties......Page 198 The European Community’s policies towards refugees......Page 199 Asylum and immigration policies towards former Yugoslavs......Page 200 Policies of temporary protection and burden-sharing......Page 202 Institutional constraints......Page 203 Institutional games and the circumstances of the Maastricht negotiations......Page 205 Conclusion......Page 206 References......Page 207 Policy disasters in Europe......Page 212 Multidimensional disasters......Page 213 The variable scope of policy disasters......Page 215 Explaining policy disasters: three key questions......Page 216 The limits of problem-solving explanations......Page 217 Competing values: power, conflict and motivated ignorance......Page 219 Institutional action: incremental politics and bureaucracy as usual......Page 222 More programme disasters?......Page 225 Increasing social and technological complexity......Page 226 More political disasters?......Page 227 Mass media vigilance......Page 228 Institutionalization of watchdogs......Page 229 References......Page 230 INDEX......Page 234 In recent years Europe has witnessed some spectacular failures in government policy, which have, in some cases, contributed to the downfall of governments. This book considers these failures in policy-making asking what is meant by policy 'disaster', the different forms that they can take, and why they have occurred. The study opens with an overview of the trends in the explanation of 'disastrous' policy and explores the problems that arise when policies are evaluated. These issues are then examined in nine contrasting cases drawn from both the European Union and its member states. These include: the devastating crisis in the Belgium political system following the exposure of a paedophile ring; the crisis in the Dutch fight against drugs; 'Mad Cows'; the 'Arms to Iraq' affair in the UK; monetary union between East and West Germany; the Swedish monetary crisis of 1992; and the EU's common fisheries policy and policies towards civil war in Yugoslavia. Drawing upon common strands from these cases, the concluding chapter argues that broader trends towards increasing social and technological complexity render policy failures more likely. It also shows how some 'successful' government policies can become 'failures' when exposed to the mass media and a less deferential public opinion. The book is an excellent study of how and why policies can go wrong and highlights the limits of what governments can achieve in Western Europe Pt. I. Introduction. 1. Policy Disasters In Europe: An Introduction / Pat Gray -- Pt. Ii. The Core Functions Of The State. 2. The Disastrous Justice System In Belgium: A Crisis Of Democracy? / Lode Van Outrive. 3. The Mass Media And Policy Disasters: The Irt Disaster And The Crisis In Crime-fighting In The Netherlands / Mark Bovens, Paul 't. Hart And Sander Dekker [and Others] -- Pt. Iii. The 'welfare' State. 4. The Bse Crisis: Public Health And The 'risk Society' / Rob Baggott. 5. Italian Public Policy And The Southern Question: Policy Disaster Or Political Disaster? / Robert Sykes. 6. An Unavoidable Disaster? The German Currency Union Of 1990 / Wolfgang Seibel -- Pt. Iv. The State In Its International Context. Edited By Pat Gray And Paul 't Hart. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book presents case studies of recent and often spectacular failures of policy including the BSE crisis, the 'Arms to Iraq' affair, the German currency union, and asks what is meant by policy 'disaster'