Governing Britain. British political science debates the future of the Westminster model

There is unanimity in the British political science discourse that the Westminster model has undergone profound changes. What is open to debate is the direction it has taken. A number of authors have argued that British politics has been transformed by the dual forces of Europeanization and the end...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inZeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 795 - 811
Main Author Sturm, Roland
Format Journal Article
LanguageGerman
Published 01.12.2006
Subjects
Academic profession
Civil Society
Cooperation
Discourse
Effectiveness
Europeanization
Executive power
Great Britain
Narratives
Parliamentarianism
Parliamentary Systems
Policy Networks
Political institutions
Political Science
Political science research
Political systems
Power relations
Presidents
United Kingdom
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Summary:There is unanimity in the British political science discourse that the Westminster model has undergone profound changes. What is open to debate is the direction it has taken. A number of authors have argued that British politics has been transformed by the dual forces of Europeanization and the end of the exclusive role of parliamentary government, including inroads into parliamentary sovereignty and the decision-making power of No. 10 Downing Street with the result of a 'hollowing out' of the state. This has provoked critics who have argued that the core executive in Britain still has a very efficient center, namely the prime minister who enjoys a wide range of powers and an undisputed political predominance that may even be compared to traits of presidencies. Prime ministerial government has proven its effectiveness even today in a new environment where political decisions result less in the institutionalization of command and control and more in cooperation with civil society. The regulatory state, targeting and policy networks are from the perspective of critics of the 'hollowing out'-hypothesis not challenging but strengthening the political center. On a meta-level, the diverging interpretations of the future of the Westminster model reflect the conflict between competing narratives of British politics, for example between the Whig interpretation and constructivists. Reprinted by permission of the VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Germany
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ISSN:0340-1758