The Managerial State: Power, Politics and Ideology in the Remaking of Social Welfare

Abstract

Authors John Clarke and Janet Newman present an original analysis of creation of new state forms that critically examines political forces that enabled more and better management to be presented as a solution to problems of welfare state in Britain. Examining micro-politics of change within services, authors draw links among politics, policies, and organizational power to present an incisive and dynamic account of restructuring of social welfare. Clarke and Newman expose tensions and contradictions in managerial state and trace emergence of new dilemmas in provision of services. They show that these problems are connected to recurring difficulties in defining the public that receives these services. In particular they question whether reinvention of as either a nation of consumers or a nation of communities can effectively address implications of social diversity. A cogent critique of social, political, and organizational conflicts and instabilities that are embedded in new state forms, The Managerial State will be essential reading for students and academics in social policy, policy, and management. It will also be of interest to academics in sociology, politics, and organization studies.