Governing beyond the Centre: A Critique of the Anglo-Governance School

Abstract

One of the more intriguing theoretical discussions of recent years involves the concept of governance. There is now a substantial body of work concerning the way governance has affected the contribution of central government to the policy process. Possibly the most prominent and influential account of governance theory in British political science is offered by Rod Rhodes. His most recent writings have employed governance theory to explore the institutions, actors and processes of change within the core executive. His 'Anglo-governance' model has emerged as a prevalent and authoritative account of how new methods of governing have emerged in society. Significantly, it is maintained that a distinct shift has taken place in government, from a hierarchical organisation to a fragmented and decentralised entity that is heavily reliant on a range of complex and independent policy networks. There is undoubted evidence that government is a fractured institution that is dependent on state and non-state actors beyond the centre. This paper questions whether such features entail the emergence of a new form of governance. Central government is still highly resourced and has, at its disposal, a range of powers with which to retain influence over public sector agencies. Historical evidence also shows that the British polity has long been decentralised. Thus, it is difficult to see how recent developments have in any way transformed the capacities of the core executive. It seems that alternative ways of conceptualising the institutions, actors and processes of change in government are required. Recent efforts to develop 'organising perspectives', within the intellectual parameters of governance theory, offer a more 'conceptually cautious' treatment of the central state. Gamble (1990) claims that theory generation is not a particular 'brand feature' of British political science. The preference is for empiricism over theorising. This might seem a little caricatured or even unfair; he acknowledges that 'it is hard for political scientists to avoid general theories altogether' (Gamble, 1990, p. 406). One of the more intriguing theoretical discussions of recent years involves the concept of governance. There is now a substantial body of work concerning the way governance has affected the contribution of central government to the policy process. There are different definitions of what is meant by 'governance' and distinct analytical interpretations as to its impact in government.Possibly the most prominent and influential account of governance theory in British political science is offered by Rod Rhodes. His more recent writings embrace governance theory to explore theoretically the institutions, actors and processes of change within the core executive. His 'Anglo-governance' model has formed into an authoritative theory of how new methods of governing society have emerged. As part of this analysis, he examines the contribution made by actors and institutions beyond the central state to the process of governance. This theoretical con...

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