The State Under Stress
| Author | Patrick Nairne |
| Published date | 01 January 1997 |
| Date | 01 January 1997 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/095207679701200106 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
REVIEW
The
State
Under
Stress,
Christopher
D.
Foster
and
Francis
J.
Plowden;
Open
University
Press,
1996,
274
pages,
ISBN
0
333
19713
2
(pbk).
This
is
a
valuable
and
timely
book,
written
by
a
partnership
experienced
in
the
ways
of
government.
It
is
rightly
addressed
to
'those
in
government',
as
well
as
to
those
in
the
Press
and
the
universities
'who
watch
and
comment
from
the
outside'.
Although
it
is
churlish
to
say
so,
I
fear
that
its
packed
pages,
solid
prose
and
small
print
may
result
in
more
of
the
latter
than
the
former
managing
to
read
it
at
all.
It
certainly
deserves
to
be
studied
and
discussed
in
both
Whitehall
and
Westminster.
It
provides
a
critical
analysis
of
how
the
long
Tory
years
have
changed
the
operation
of
government;
it
constructively
examines
the
issues
presented
by
what
the
authors
call
'new
public
management';
it
makes
a
cogent
plea
for
greater
decentralisation;
and,
finally,
it
presents
a
compelling
case
for
strengthening
the
hand
of
Westminster
and
for
reinvigorating
the
role
of
civil
servants
as
partners
of
ministers.
I
have
found
the
sub-title,
'The
Hollow
State',
somewhat
puzzling;
but,
if
the
central
question
is:
can
the
State,
as
it
is
now,
deliver
'good
government',
there
could
not
be
a
more
relevant
question
for
a
new
government
taking
office.
It
is
impossible
to
do
full
justice
to
the
book
in
a
short
review.
I
can
only
comment
on
some
of
its
important
features.
A
strong
case
emerges
for
evaluating
and
reviewing
the
components
of
'new
public
management'
-
as
may
well
be
happening
in
Whitehall.
Dogma
should
be
set
aside
-
whether
relating
to
the
virtues
of
the
competitive
market
or
to
those
of
the
direct
responsibility
of
the
state.
A
wide-ranging
review
would
be
an
exacting
task,
but
it
could
establish
useful
guidelines
covering
the
most
cost-
effective
means
-
for
example,
privatisation,
contractorisation
or
a
form
of
decentralisation
-
of
carrying
out
the
different
administrative
and
executive
tasks
of
government.
The
policy
responsibilities
of
ministers
require
re-defining;
and
Parliament
must
be
satisfied
that
both
the
public
is
well
served
and
the
fiscal
problems
reduced.
There
is
also
a
good
case
for
reviewing
the
training
in
public
management
of
civil
servants,
particularly
perhaps
accounting
officers
-
though
the
book
may
make
rather
too
much
of
this.
Take
two
departments
with
major
responsibilities
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
12
No.]
Spring
1997
69
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