Co-governance or meta-bureaucracy? Perspectives of local governance 'partnership' in England and Scotland

Fenwick, John, Johnston Miller, Karen and McTavish, Duncan (2012) Co-governance or meta-bureaucracy? Perspectives of local governance 'partnership' in England and Scotland. Policy & Politics, 40 (3). pp. 405-422. ISSN 0305-5736

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/147084411X581907

Abstract

This article assesses the nature of partnerships through the research site of local governance in England and Scotland, engaging a range of debates and literature around governance and meta-governance. The research used secondary data of local authority partnership working in England and Scotland as well as primary qualitative data from participant observation and interviews with senior officials of local authorities and partner organisations. There is little to suggest that English and Scottish practices are significantly at variance and the article advances an argument of meta-bureaucracy to describe partnerships' activities: that is to say, partnerships do not represent a growth of autonomous networks and governance arrangements but rather an extension of bureaucratic controls. State actors remain pre-eminent within increasingly formalised systems of 'partnership'.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: governance, co-governance, bureaucracy, accountability, local governance
Subjects: L200 Politics
N100 Business studies
Department: Faculties > Business and Law > Newcastle Business School
Depositing User: Ellen Cole
Date Deposited: 12 Dec 2012 15:26
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2023 15:49
URI: https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/10771

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