The Square of Intimate Citizenship: Some Preliminary Proposals

This exploratory paper suggests some emerging arenas of public debate across the personal life‐from 'test-tube babies' to 'lesbian and gay families'‐which when taken together may be captured by the term 'intimate citizenship'. This suggests a plurality of public discourses developing about how to live the personal and intimate life in a late modern and global world where we are often confronted by an escalating series of choices and difficulties around intimacies. A framework of four key issues is suggested for fuller examination. This entails the changing nature of the public sphere; the growth of culture wars and the need for dialogue; the narrativisation process and grounded moralities; and the links to global intimacies.     

Citizen political knowledge and accountability: Survey evidence on devolution in Kenya

Devolution complicates citizens’ ability to assign responsibility for the provision of public goods and services to different tiers of government. Misattribution of responsibility limits the effectiveness of electoral accountability in the nested principal–agent relationships comprising voters, politicians, and bureaucrats. This raises two important questions. First, how do citizens learn about the functions of different tiers of government under devolution? Second, how do levels of political knowledge condition citizens’ evaluations of subnational governments? Using cross‐sectional and panel survey data from Kenya (2014–2018), this article shows that voters accumulate knowledge through exposure to government services, and that gender and partisanship mediate knowledge accumulation. In addition, exposed citizens are more likely to give positive evaluations of subnational politicians, despite the fact that such exposure may reveal subnational governments’ low capacity, ineffectiveness, and governance gaps. These findings advance our understanding of the dynamics of political accountability under devolution.     

Manager's matter: news from the laboratory

Advancing Public Management: New Developments in Theory, Methods and Practice. Edited by jeffrey l. brudney, laurence o'toole jr. and hal g. rainey. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. 2000. Pp. xi, 304. Transforming Government: Lessons from the Reinvention Laboratories. By PATRICIA w. INGRAHAM, JAMES R. THOMPSON and RONALD SANDERS. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. 1998. Pp. xxi, 266. The Stakeholder Society. By bruce ackerman and anne alstott. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1999. Pp. xi, 296.     

Disclosure strategies among sex offenders: A model for understanding the engagement process in groupwork

Abstract

A key component of the functional engagement of child sex offenders in a group-based programme is the disclosure of certain personal information. Such information is required to be of a type and presented in a way that facilitates open exchange in the group, promoting understanding of the presenter's offence pattern and conveying his sole responsibility for the offending. The model explained in this paper, based on an outcome from a grounded theory study, describes in detail four distinct orientations to such disclosure. Each is associated with a particular style of managing the disclosure encounter. Three of these disclosure management styles can be described as essentially “resistant” in nature, but only one is overtly oppositional. The two other “resistant” styles of disclosure management emerge as more covert and perhaps less readily identifiable expressions of reluctance. The implications of the model for work with this population and in more general settings are discussed.     

Capacity Building for New Parliamentarians: Survey of Orientation and Induction Programmes

This article reports original research which built on conceptual issues previously identified by the authors. A survey of national parliaments sought information on orientation and induction programmes offered to first term members and on members' perceptions of those programmes. An overview of findings is presented and significant issues identified. Most programmes provided passive development through information and a handbook rather than active skill development. Few used training processes and techniques that were based on contemporary adult learning principles. There were sharp divisions over training and development in dealing with ethical issues. The findings suggest considerable potential for the further development of programmes and for sharing information about programmes in order to assist capacity building for parliamentarians and thereby enhance the performance of parliaments and individual members.     

Reconciling Expert Advice and Community Opinion in a Local Government Strategic Planning Process

This article proposes that the eventual outcomes of local government strategic policy deliberations can often reflect the interplay between “expert” administrative staff, democratically elected politicians, and the community they jointly serve. A multi-site case study approach, to examine the generation of local government strategy related to a niche economic activity concludes that broadly conceptualized opinion congruence can sometimes be threatened by substantial pockets of stakeholder vested interest. As such, “expert” and “political” opinion reflects a caution based on both historical experience and political expediency; while community opinion displays an optimism based on eager anticipation of an unknown future.