State Power and Ideology in Britain: Mrs Thatcher's Privatization Programme

State-centred theory, a leading exemplar of the new institutionalism, assumes the separation of state from society and objectivity from subjectivity. This epistemological stance supports a structural analysis which holds that the state is an actor in its own right, that the state has distinctive interests, and that state capacity depends on strong institutions and weak societal opposition. Yet the case of the Thatcher governments'ideologically motivated privatization programme challenges the statists'hypotheses and epistemology. Rather, the making of British privatization policy supports the view that the way political actors form and use ideas is important in explaining state power and in defending the liberal democratic vision of mankind as the maker of history.     

Medical Regulation: New Politics and Old Power Structures

In the wake of the events at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, the Harold Shipman case and numerous other examples of doctor malpractice assiduously pursued by an attentive media, medical regulation is now fully politicised. In the context of the raft of policies produced in response to this situ-ation, and in the light of international experience, this article analyses the system power play which will determine by and for whom regulation is organised. In so doing, the analysis considers the impact of the rise of the active citizen/consumer, the decline of medical authority, the internal organisation of the medical profession, and the delicate position of the state as guardian of the public interest. The article concludes by reviewing the political criteria necessary for a sustainable solution.     

Bureaucrats and Politicians in Britain

The distinctive relationship between bureaucrats and politicians in Britain has been much noted around the world and often used a model by reformers. However, both Conservative and Labour governments have displayed dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy and have made important changes in the "Whitehall model." Some of these changes have reduced the degree to which British politicians have been unusually dependent on a career bureaucracy that is insulated from partisan politics.     

Heaven's Talent Scout: Prime Ministerial Power,Ecclesiastical Patronage and the Governance of Britain

In the last decade the role of the Prime Minister in the process for making senior Church appointments has changed significantly. The man who replaces Dr Rowan Williams—and it will be a man—will be appointed through a procedure in which the Prime Minister is expected to enjoy no choice but to simply confirm the Church of England's preferred candidate. The aim of this article is to draw upon fresh empirical research in order to explore why and how the politics and governance of ecclesiastical patronage has been recalibrated in this way. More importantly this article seeks to embed the study of ecclesiastical patronage within a much broader appreciation of how other forms of ministerial patronage have also become tightly constrained. This, in itself, forges a connection between the role of politicians in senior Church appointments, on the one hand, and a much richer and broader seam of research and writing that poses distinct questions about the nature of modern governance, the benefits of depoliticisation, the accountability of appointment commissions, the capacity of politicians and the future of democracy.     

Britain and Europe

Britain decided to join the European Community because its postwar, postimperial policies had failed and successive Governments saw no viable alternative. After ten years of being denied entry by De Gaulle, Britain joined on disadvantageous terms and with the British political parties, and the British people, deeply divided. Accession did not resolve the underlying issues and Britain's first year of membership saw an unprecedented oil crisis, bad relations between Britain and the United States and the demise of the British government led by Edward Heath. The underlying issues which had not been resolved in the accession negotiations were reopened by Harold Wilson and later by Margaret Thatcher. Some of them remain unresolved in British politics to this day.     

Antisemites in Britain

A former leader of the Liberal Party believes that antisemitism is unlikely to grow in Britain but it is very much alive on the fringes.     

Britain and Ireland

Books Reviewed
Dunleavy Patrick, Gamble Andrew, Heffernan Richard and Peele Gillian (eds), DEVELOPMENTS IN BRITISH POLITICS 7 , (ALISTAIR JONES), 223
English Richard, ARMED STRUGGLE: a history of the IRA , (AARON EDWARDS), 224
Craith Máiread Nic, CULTURE AND IDENTITY POLITICS IN NORTHERN IRELAND , (CLAIRE MITCHELL), 224
Prabhakar Rajiv, STAKEHOLDING AND NEW LABOUR , (ERIC SHAW), 225