From Brexit to Covid-19

The Johnson Government, Executive Centralisation and Authoritarian Populism

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6344653
AutoresJoseph Ward (0000-0002-3605-9931, University of Birmingham, autor de correspondencia), Bradley Ward (0000-0003-0123-5023, University of Birmingham)
Año2023
Volumen71
Número4
Páginas1171-1189
Fecha de publicación2023-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPolitical Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00323217211063730
OpenAlexW4200254599
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas29
Referencias citadas26

Many commentators have suggested that the first 18 months of the Johnson government were characterised by a propensity to centralise power. However, few accounts have situated the administration in the historical context of the British state or systematically examined these centralising tendencies. This article attempts to address these omissions. First, through a critical assessment of the literature on authoritarian neoliberalism, the concept of ‘executive centralisation’ is developed within the context of the British state. Second, the article applies this revised framework to the early stages of the Johnson government. While a dominant executive is a long-standing feature of the British political system, it is argued that Johnson has pursued a multifaceted centralisation strategy facilitated by the context of Brexit and COVID-19. In identifying the role of consent in this process, the article augments scholarship on ‘authoritarian neoliberalism’ as a moment in neoliberal governance characterised by the ascendance of coercive governing strategies

Authoritarianism · Brexit · Centralisation · Context (archaeology · Corporate governance · Democracy · Economics · European union · Neoliberalism (international relations · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Scholarship · Sociology · State (computer science · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies