The Problem of Governing: Essays for Richard Rose (Executive Politics and Governance)

This book provides an appreciation of the work of renowned scholar Richard Rose. Over a career spanning more than six decades, Rose has explored a vast range of subjects related to British, American and comparative politics. His work, however, has always been concerned with an underlying theme: governing modern societies in changing times. Celebrating Rose's career which has shaped postwar political science in decisive ways, this volume examines issues, debates and lines of research stimulated by his work. Chapters are organized thematically under five headings central to his research: parties and elections, political institutions, public policy, governing at multiple levels, and trust and legitimacy. The book demonstrates that politics cannot be reduced to economics, the actions of individuals, predictive science or functional determinism, but has its own logic and modes of justification. It will appeal to scholars and students of politics, public policy and governance. Preface 6 Contents 13 Notes on Contributors 15 Abbreviations 19 List of Figures 20 List of Tables 21 Chapter 1: Richard Rose: Connections Over 60 Years 22 Early Years 23 Becoming an Academic 24 Manchester Made Him a Political Scientist 27 Scotland and Beyond 30 References 38 Part I: Governing at Multiple Levels 39 Chapter 2: Politics in England 40 A New Approach to British Politics 41 The Constitution and the ‘Mechanisms of Legitimation’ 44 The Choice of Parties 47 Public Policy 50 Conclusion 53 References 54 Chapter 3: The United Kingdom as an Intellectual Puzzle 57 The Homogeneity Thesis Challenged 57 The Maze and the Mace 61 The Millennium Settlement 64 The Mace Challenged 67 Where Stands the Union Now? 70 References 71 Part II: Parties and Elections 74 Chapter 4: Must Labour Lose? A Reconsideration 75 The Book 76 Ahead of the Curve or on the Wrong Road? 79 How Have Things Worked Out? 80 A New Dilemma of Electoral Socialism? 83 Conclusion 86 References 88 Chapter 5: Studying the Interplay of Party Support and Turnout 91 The Model 93 Data and Methods 96 A Statistical Model of Turnout and Party Choice 98 Persuasion and Learning Effects 102 Discussion 104 References 108 Part III: Institutions and Governing 110 Chapter 6: Presidents and Prime Ministers: Then and Now 111 Introduction 111 The Changing Features of Past and Contemporary Presidents and Prime Ministers 114 Age, Experience and Physical Fitness 114 Gender 116 Status and Public Exposure 117 Vulnerability, ‘Lame Ducks’ and the Emergence of Post-executive Careers 119 The Legacies of Political Chief Executives 121 Conclusion 123 References 125 Chapter 7: Understanding Big Government 131 Introduction: Big Government as a Problem Focus 131 The Growth of Government in the Twentieth Century 134 Rose’s Big Government and His Other Research 136 Big Government in the Twenty-First Century 139 The Problem of Consent 144 Conclusion: Is Big Government Inevitable? 146 References 148 Part IV: Public Policy 152 Chapter 8: Learning Across Time and Space: Richard Rose’s Work on Lesson-Drawing 153 Lesson-Drawing and Policymaking 154 Learning Lessons About Lesson-Drawing 157 Lesson-Drawing and the Limits of Rationality 158 Lesson-Drawing and the Role(s) Policymakers Play 160 Lesson-Drawing and the Relevance of International Agents 161 Lesson-Drawing and Its Temporal Implications 163 The Politics of Lesson-Drawing 164 Lesson-Drawing and Other Forms of Policy Learning 165 Conclusion 167 References 168 Chapter 9: Inheritance, Choice and Change 174 How Inheritance Works: Two Perspectives 176 First Catch Your Policies 178 The Policy Novelties of 2002: The Finishers and the Fallers 180 Searching for Feedback Effects: The Life of Laws After Royal Assent 182 The Long Tail of the Legislative Process 183 Laws as Frameworks for New Policies 184 Laws as Part of a Series 185 Laws as Unfinished Business 186 Are These Feedback Mechanisms? 186 Conclusion 189 References 190 Chapter 10: The Ordinary People Perspective: Coping at the Grass-Roots 194 Conceptual Groundings 196 Ordinary People in Transition 197 Ordinary People and Corruption 198 Functionality of Corruption for Ordinary People 200 Fighting Corruption Without Addressing Functions 203 Ordinary People, Moralities and Translation of Anticorruption Normative Framings 205 Conclusion 207 References 209 Chapter 11: Governments and Citizens Under Stress 213 Overload and Stress, Then and Now 215 Democratic Backsliding 216 The Return of Overload, or Did It Never Really Leave? 218 Insecurity and Identity 221 The Interactions 223 Solutions? 224 Conclusion 226 References 227 Part V: Trust and Legitimacy 229 Chapter 12: Democracy and Its Alternatives 230 Rose and Regime Transformation 230 Rose’s Work on Post-communist Transformation in Retrospect 236 Conclusions 242 References 243 Chapter 13: Northern Ireland: Searching for Consensus 246 Scholarship Prior to the Troubles 247 Governing Without Consensus 250 Governing Without Consensus and Its Influence 254 Aftermath 257 References 260 Chapter 14: Reflections of a Comparative Social Scientist 263 Developing Empathy with People Past and Present 264 Turning Words into Concepts and Books 266 Travelling in Three Dimensions 269 Caring About What Government Does 273 Adopting Identities 276 Having Bases 277 References 280 Index 282