Book Review: Rethinking Local Democracy Desmond King and Gerry Stoker (Macmillan, 1996, pp 254, £12.99 pbk) and Local Democracy and Local Government Lawrence Pratchett and David Wilson (Macmillan, 1996, pp 256, £11.99 pbk)
| Author | Jim Chandler |
| DOI | 10.1177/014473949601600208 |
| Published date | 01 September 1996 |
| Date | 01 September 1996 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Teaching Public Administration
'wet-dominated' cabinet in 1979-81, or that she needed to keep the
support
of
key figures in the Party.
As
a result he offers us a view
of
power relations within the Cabinet which is
no
different from standard
accounts and which relates people to resources as
if
they were pieces on
a chessboard. He thus eschews the careful organisational analysis put
forward by Rhodes in Control
and
Power in Central-Local Relations in
1981. One quotation will illustrate the point. Howe and Thatcher,
we
are
told on page 115,
'were in a position to dictate the "appreciative system" (sic) and to
detennine the rules
of
the game concerning how cabinet operated and the
direction
of
policy. Thatcher's position
was
clearly strong because
of
the
context
of
political success and the fact that she seemed to provide the
only viable option for Britain's economic problems, but she was also
strong because she exchanged resources with Howe. On several occasions
her senior colleagues did limit her actions.'
This
is
no
more than anecdote dressed up
as
theory. Indeed, most
of
the
anecdotal accounts already accept that both the PM and cabinet members
are limited by resources in what they can and cannot do. Stating that the
PM and Foreign Secretary could "dictate" the "appreciative system" or
that they "exchanged resources" tells us nothing. What
is
needed is an
analysis
of
the ways in which key organisational elements re-negotiated
their goals in the process
of
resource acquisition and exchange.
Methodology cannot be a substitute for research.
CHRIS
STEVENS
University
of
Teesside
RETHINKING
LOCAL
DEMOCRACY
Desmond King and
Gerry
Stoker (Macmillan, 1996, pp 254,
£12.99 pbk)
LOCAL
DEMOCRACY
AND
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
Lawrence
Pratchett
and
David Wilson (Macmillan, 1996, pp 256,
£11.99 pbk)
Both
of
these books have been published as contributions to the
Government Beyond the Centre series edited by Gerry Stoker and, to a
considerable extent, reflect his involvement in the Campaign for Local
68
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
