Full Issue
| Published date | 01 April 2011 |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.2041-9066.2011.00047.x |
| Date | 01 April 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Full Issue |
Subscription and Publisher Details
Publisher: Political Insight is published by the Political Studies
Association and Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford
OX4 2DQ, UK.
Information for subscribers: Political Insight is published 3 times
per year, in April, September and December. Subscription prices for
2011 are:
UK
(£)
Europe
(€)
Americas
($)
Rest of World
($)
Print Only 27 32 45 45
Political Insight offers discounted group subscriptions.
The first subscription ordered as part of a group will cost
£27 ($45) with subsequent subscriptions ordered to the
same address each costing £13 ($22). For further details
please contact Lucie Peplow lucie.peplow@wiley.com
Journal Customer Services: For ordering information, claims
and any enquiry concerning your journal subscription please go to
interscience.wiley.com/support or contact your nearest office.
Americas: Email: cs-journals@wiley.com; Tel: +1 781 388 8598 or +1
800 835 6770 (toll free in the USA & Canada).
Europe, Middle East and Africa: Email: cs-journals@wiley.com; Tel:
+44 (0) 1865 778315.
Asia Pacific: Email: cs-journals@wiley.com; Tel: +65 6511 8000.
Japan: For Japanese speaking support, Email: cs-japan@wiley.com; Tel:
+65 6511 8010 or Tel (toll-free): 005 316 50 480.
Advertising in Political Insight: Craig Pickett (craig.pickett@wiley.
com).
Printed in Singapore by Fabulous Printers Pte Ltd.
For information about the Political Studies association and how
to join please visit us at: www.psa.ac.uk
The Political Studies
Association is a Registered
Charity no. 1071825 and
a company limited by
guarantee in England and Wales no. 3628986.
Editorial
Back in 2008, Barack Obama won the US presidency on a promise of ‘Change we can believe in’. Since
then that simple six-letter word – ‘change’ – has become a mantra for politicians and political parties
around the world.
In the UK, during the 2010 general election campaign, the Conservatives asked us to ‘Vote for change’,
while the Liberal Democrats pledged ‘Change that works for you’. More recently, Fine Gael employed the
rhetoric of change and reform to win the Irish election.
Change has been the watchword of 2011 so far, too. Revolts have swept across the Middle East,
while closer to home on-going budget cuts have introduced new political dynamics. In this issue’s lead
article, Patrick Dunleavy investigates one notable change in recent years: the emergence of visceral anti-
government sentiment on the right in the wake of the financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the UK could be about to witness a significant change to its election system. On May 5,
a referendum on changing the system for electing MPs from first-past-the-post to the Alternative Vote will be put before the
public. In this issue, Michael Pinto-Duschinsky debates the merits of the proposed switch to AV with Iain McLean and Guy
Lodge.
Whatever the decision in May, the redrawing of the UK’s electoral map could have even greater long-term import than the
adoption of AV. Under a coalition bill passed by Parliament in February, the number of MPs will be reduced from 650 to 600,
quotas will be increased and traditional boundaries revised. Here Ron Johnston reviews these changes and considers what they
might mean for electoral politics in Britain.
One change that was met with little fanfare or media spectacle was the establishment of a Supreme Court for the UK.
Comparing the British Supreme Court with its American counterpart, Mark Garnett argues that, despite its relatively inauspicious
beginnings, the new Supreme Court could have a significant lasting impact on British politics.
Budget cuts have been a key theme of the coalition’s first year – with one notable exception, international development
spending. Molly Dunne, David Hall-Matthews and Simon Lightfoot examine why international aid remains a government
priority. Elsewhere, Michael Hallsworth looks at the challenges facing policy-makers, while Stuart Wilks-Heeg revisits another
old chestnut, party funding, and asks who should pay for these crucial, though often unpopular, organisations.
Looking beyond the UK, Mahrukh Doctor reports from Brazil, where new president Dilma Rousseff will be hoping to build
on Lula’s remarkable legacy. Brazil’s annual growth stands at a vertiginous 7.5 per cent and employment is soaring, but political
reform will be needed if this success is to be maintained.
Change is not a word many would associate with the European Union and its institutions, however, with the Euro in serious
trouble and disquiet in the region’s periphery, these are trying times for the European project. Michelle Cini looks at where
power lies in the polycentric EU, while George Irwin analyses the options for saving the embattled single currency.
This is only issue one of 2011, but the winds of change seem unlikely to abate anytime soon. It promises to be a very
interesting year for politics across the globe. If would like to join the debates or contribute to Political Insight please drop me an
email (address on the opposite page) or log on to www.politicalinsightmagazine.com.
Peter Geoghegan
Editor
Cover: Protesters shout and waves flags on the south steps of the Oklahoma state Capitol, as part of a National Tax Day Tea Party to protest excessive
government spending, in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, April 15, 2009. Press Association Images
Editor
Peter Geoghegan
editor@politicalinsightmagazine.com
Editorial Board
Professor John Benyon
University of Leicester
Professor Vicky Randall
University of Essex
Professor Richard Topf
London Metropolitan University
Professor Paul Whiteley
University of Essex
International Advisory Board
Professor Luciano Bardi
University of Pisa
Professor Andrew Gamble
University of Cambridge
Professor Robert Goodin
Australian National University
Professor Zhu Guanglei
Nankai University
Professor Ian Holliday
University of Hong Kong
Professor Ira Katznelson
Columbia University
Martha Kearney
British Broadcasting Corporation
Professor Gurpreet Mahajan
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Professor Pippa Norris
Harvard University
Professor Rasul Bakhsh Rais
Lahore University of Management Sciences
Professor Rod Rhodes
University of Tasmania
Insight making sense
of issues,
arguments,
trends and
developments
POLITICAL
Volume 2 • Number 1 April 2011
In the News 2
Future Spending; Material world; E-petitioning
government; UKIP’s right appeal.
Features
The Backlash against the State 4
Despite stepping in to prevent economic col-
lapse in 2008, anti-government sentiment is
rising on both sides of the Atlantic. Patrick
Dunleavy investigates.
Policy-Making in the Real World 10
Michael Hallsworth looks at how UK policy-
making can be improved by learning from the
mistakes of the past.
Where does Power Lie in the EU? 13
Michelle Cini considers the main sources of
control and influence in one of the world’s
most complex political structures – the Euro-
pean Union.
Equalise and Reduce: A New Electoral
Map for the UK 18
The Conservative-led coalition has pledged to
redraw the UK’s electoral map. Ron Johnston
examines the proposed changes.
Funding UK Political Parties:
A Democratic Dilemma 22
Reform of party funding is once again on the
agenda, but what are the prospects for last-
ing change? Stuart Wilks-Heeg assesses the
options.
Copyright and Photocopying: © 2011
Political Studies Association. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any
form or by any means without the prior
permission in writing from the copyright
holder. Authorization to photocopy items for
internal and personal use is granted by the
copyright holder for libraries and other users
registered with their local Reproduction
Rights Organisation (RRO), e.g. Copyright
Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood
Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA (www.
copyright.com), provided the appropriate fee
is paid directly to the RRO. This consent
does not extend to other kinds of copying
such as copying for general distribution, for
advertising and promotional purposes, for
creating new collective works or for resale.
Special requests should be addressed to:
permissionsuk@wiley.com.
Contents Supreme Justice? The US and UK
Supreme Courts 26
Mark Garnett compares and contrasts the
new UK Supreme Court with its older, more
illustrious American counterpart.
‘Our Aid’: UK International Development
Policy under the Coalition 29
While budgets are being slashed across govern-
ment, spending on aid has increased slightly.
Molly Dunne, David Hall-Matthews a nd
Simon Lightfoot investigate why.
Country Focus
Brazil 7
Mahrukh Doctor reports from Brazil, where
new president Dilma Rousseff is looking to
build on Lula’s legacy of success.
Debate
The Alternative Vote 16
Michael Pinto-Duschinsky argues that pro-
posed changes to the first-past-the-post system
run counter to the spirit of British democracy,
while Iain McLean and Guy Lodge believe
that AV will make MPs more accountable.
Foresight
What Options for the Euro? 32
George Irvin argues that only greater finan-
cial harmonisation and federal governance will
save the embattled currency.
In Focus
US Midterm Elections 2010 34
Charles Pattie, Benjamin Hennig a nd
Danny Dorling map the results of last year’s
midterm elections.
1April 2011
To continue reading
Request your trial