Riots in Britain and the United States: The Bureau‐Politics of Crisis Management and Urban Policy

Abstract

This research considers the bureaucratic politics of recent riot crisis management and urban policy in Britain and the United States.1 The bureaucratic politics model is evaluated and a tentative framework for its development as a way of analysing governmental responses to urban riots is proposed.2 The links between crisis management in riots and wider urban policy are identified as being important in developing an understanding of the nature of post‐riot policy responses within the context of the broader political environment.

A Bureau‐Political Model of Local Networks and Public/Private Partnerships: Responses to Crisis and Change

“…National and local government involvement within PPPs can, therefore, facilitate the restoration of social-order and the re-generation of local communities (Jacobs, 1993). Public agencies foster stable communal relations and the mediation of conflicting interests.…”

“…he earlier model linked urban crisis T management and broader policy initiatives (Jacobs, 1993). It explored inter-organizational competition and policy change.…”

“…In the UK, community relations councils, partnerships, advisory bodies and local authority specialist committees 'integrated groups to reduce conflict (Bums, Hambleton and Hoggett, 1994). National and local government involvement within PPPs can, therefore, facilitate the restoration of social-order and the re-generation of local communities (Jacobs, 1993). Public agencies foster stable communal relations and the mediation of conflicting interests.…”

“…Given the variability in conditions, the use of 'policy communities' to analyze interorganizational politics in the changing urban context is unsatisfactory. In the earlier version of my bureau-political model (Jacobs, 1993), political interactions are portrayed within a complex and fragmented administrative setting where policy makers seek to control events. However, the importance of 'policy communities' in the 1993 analysis implied stability and compromise in inter-organizational relationships.…”

“…The research covers the factors that shape local level organizational structures and policy especially in public/private sector partnerships (PPPs). The bureau-political model presented here derives from research originally published in this journal (Jacobs, 1993). The 1993 paper dealt with policy responses to urban riots in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US).…”