Abolishing the Audit Commission: Framing,Discourse Coalitions and Administrative Reform

The abolition of the Audit Commission in England raises questions about how a major reform was achieved with so little controversy, why the agency lacked the institutional stickiness commonly described in the literature on organisational reform and why it did not strategise to survive. In this paper, we apply argumentative discourse analysis to rich empirical data to reveal the pattern and evolution of storylines and discourse coalitions, and the ways in which these interact with and affect the practices of Parliament, the media and the Audit Commission itself. Our analysis shows that the politics of administrative reform are as much about discursive framing and the ability of pro-reformers to gain discursive structuration and institutionalisation as they are about the material resources available to a newly elected government and its ministers. Questions of technical feasibility are unlikely to derail a reform initiative once its promoters gain discursive ascendency.     

The U.S. press and political change in the Third World: The coverage of military coups

One of the chief features of the Third World is how often regimes change. These regime changes have many implications both for internal political stability in the Third World and in the relationships between the Third World and the superpowers. In the United States, it is generally the media that inform the American people about these changes and their implications for the United States. This paper analyzes the coverage of the two most recent military coups in Nigeria by the U.S. press.

Our analysis indicates that if a government that is supportive of American interests is overthrown, and the personalities and policies of the new leaders are not readily apparent to the press, the change is greeted with hostilities by the U.S. press. However, as soon as it becomes apparent that the new regime will not threaten the economic and political interests of the United States, the press rallies behind the new regime and begins to proclaim it as a savior. The press lamented the overthrow of Shagari's government and proclaimed the coup a setback for democracy in Africa. However, within a few weeks of this judgement, the coup that overthrew President Shagari was hailed as necessary for the political stability and economic prosperity of Nigeria. When the military government that seized power from Shagari was itself thrown out of office in a military coup, the new regime was welcomed by the press. We also found the U.S. press utilizes a biased and distorted framework in its coverage of political events in the Third World. The framework used in the Nigerian case asserts that all economic and political crises emanate from tribalism, corruption, and the criminal tendencies of Nigerians. We argue in this paper that this perspective, which informs the coverage of political events in Nigeria by the U.S. press, does not allow it to present valid and truthful explanations of political changes in Nigeria. We also argue that this shallow coverage is done deliberately so as to obscure the reality of political struggles in Nigeria. We assert that it is in the interests of both the Nigerian ruling class and international capitalism to attribute economic and political crises in Nigeria to tribalism, corruption, and nepotism.     

Unfinished business: Aboriginal reconciliation and restorative justice in Australia

In this paper we report on general findings and observations in Australia and from two days of the Deliberative Poll on Reconciliation in Canberra. With hundreds of representative Australians participating, and plenary sessions broadcast nationally, it appeared that Australia was progressing on its long journey toward aboriginal reconciliation. In this paper, we apply a theoretical analysis from criminology--restorative justice--to examine the means by and the extent to which the national community conference was a restorative event. Of particular interest to this analysis are the unintended restorative outcomes, the voices heard, the dialogues on apologies, regrets and the past, future possibilities, and responsibility. Some preliminary thoughts on the future of reconciliation will be offered and a few skeptical comments made.     

Comparing welfare states

Comparing Welfare States: Britain in International Context. Edited by ALLAN COCHRANE and JOHN CLARKE. London: Sage in association with the Open University, 1993. Pp.xiv + 274, index. £35 (hardback) ISBN 0–8039–8845–1, £12.95 (paperback) 0–8039–8846‐X.

Women Across Continents: Feminist Comparative Social Policy By LENA DOMINELLI. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991. Pp.x + 351, biblio, index. NP (hardback). ISBN 0–7450–0336–2, £12.95 (paperback), 0–7450–0939–5.

Divisions of Welfare: A Critical Introduction to Comparative Social Policy. By NORMAN GINSBURG. London: Sage, 1992. Pp.xii + 228, appendix, references, index. £30 (hardback) ISBN 0–8039–8440–5, £10.95 (paperback) 0–8039–841–3.

Capitalist Welfare Systems: A Comparison of Japan, Britain and Sweden. By ARTHUR GOULD. London: Longman, 1993. Pp.xi + 276, notes, bibliography, index. NP. ISBN 0–582–08349–4.

New Perspectives on the Welfare State in Europe. Edited by CATHERINE JONES, London: Routledge, 1993. Pp.vii + 251, index. NP. ISBN 0–415–07041–4 (hardback), NP. 0–415–07042–2 (paperback).

Can the Welfare State Compete? A Comparative Study of Five Advanced Capitalist Countries. Edited by ALFRED PFALLER, IAN GOUGH and GORAN THERBORN. London: Macmillan, 1991. Pp.xi + 354, notes, bibliography, index. NP. ISBN 0–333–48755–9.     

Opportunity,responsibility and the market: interrogating liberal equality

This article scrutinizes the claim that liberal egalitarians are now the last real torchbearers for the principles of egalitarian reform. This claim might appear eccentric on the surface, but is increasingly common in leftist circles following the recent abandonment of such principles by formerly socialist parties. Programmes of 'social inclusion', for instance, are now widely criticized for substituting a desire to tackle economic inequalities with an incitement for us to become obedient, productive citizens. Focusing here on the claim that liberal egalitarians pose a radical alternative to this kind of discourse, I show that the real deficiencies of much liberal egalitarianism not only resemble but in many ways actually provide the sort of discourse within which parties like New Labour operate.     

Emoticon convergence in Internet chat rooms

The present study examines sex and age differences in the use of emoticons (graphic representations of facial expressions) in Internet chat rooms. Data were collected from four Noesis chat rooms (“18+”, “30-something”, “40-something” and “50+”). Although women were more likely than men to use emoticons, there was no difference between the sexes in the range of emoticons used. The fact that men expressed a similar range of emoticons to women implies a general convergence towards female expression in mixed-sex communication contexts. Chat room users without a profile picture were also more likely to use winking emoticons. This may be because these types of emoticons are more flirtatious in intent, and it is easier for chatters to engage in risky communications when they are less identifiable. Furthermore, age had little bearing on the uptake of emoticons as well as the types of emoticons expressed. We draw upon Communication Accommodation Theory to help explain why emotional expression may converge in the chat room context.     

Addressing Public Risks: Extreme Events and Critical Infrastructures

We consider noncoercive means for harnessing the efforts of the private sector as partners with public authorities for addressing potential harms from widely dispersed risks. Our focus is the public and private sector approach in the United States to protecting the nation's critical infrastructures. We empirically address how two key elements of this approach—mobilization of attention and planning partnerships—work to foster “communities of interest” that pursue common sets of solutions for risk reduction. Our depiction of the varied communities of interest underscores differences in starting points in creating such communities, in the ability to mobilize and focus attention within them, and in the likelihood of sustaining efforts to address threats to critical infrastructures. The fundamental issue raised by our research is striking an appropriate balance between governmental and private sector roles in addressing risks for which it is hard to create and sustain protective actions.