Felicity Matthews
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 4128542 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Felicity Matthews |
| NOMBRES | Felicity |
| APELLIDO | Matthews |
| FIRMA | MATTHEWS F |
| AFILIACIONES | University of Sheffield |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3248-5386 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 19 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 78 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 19 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2010 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 5 |
The performance of accountability and the treatment of experts by politicians
While recent research on policy making and implementation has shifted analytical attention from formal to informal or voluntary accountability processes, there remains a lack of systematic attention to the individual-level dynamics of accountability. Similarly, existing research has largely overlooked the intra-institutional dynamics of the accountability ‘forum’ and the diverse and often politicised ways that accountability processes are deploye…
Between everyday politics and political elites
Enacting Accountability Under Populist Pressures
While populism challenges the pluralism and technocratic expertise on which public bureaucracies are based, extant scholarship has overlooked its effects on accountability processes. In particular, it neglects the impact of anti-elite rhetoric, characterized by what can be regarded as “emotionalized blame attribution,” on the thinking and behavior of accountability actors. Responding to this gap, this article examines the impact of this distincti…
The value of ‘between-election’ political participation
Responding to the crisis of democracy, legislatures worldwide are developing new participatory mechanisms to promote parliamentary engagement and provide additional opportunities for citizens to influence policymaking. Yet despite the prevalence of such initiatives, little is known about whether political elites are receptive to public input. This article addresses this important gap, presenting original research that examines the e-petition syst…
Parliamentary scrutiny of executive patronage
While executive patronage brings important benefits in terms of governance and control, political influence over the selection of agency staff entails a democratic dilemma: how should the exercise of executive patronage be controlled? This article addresses this critical issue, examining Westminster's system of pre‐appointment scrutiny by analysing an original database that encompasses every pre‐appointment hearing held between 2007 and 2018. The…
Formal rules, informal norms and the everyday practice of coalition governance
Despite the significant attention devoted to their birth and death, the day-to-day operation of coalition government remains understudied. This article addresses this lacuna and sheds light on the dynamics of coalition governance by examining the interplay between macro-level institutions, meso-level values and micro-level practices. Focusing on the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition that governed the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2015, …
Fully Symmetric Federalism—a Bold Idea, but One that's not Demanded
Britain, Bruce Ackerman argues, has ‘muddled its way into a curious arrangement’ of asymmetric devolution, which has dis‐united the Kingdom, disempowered a significant proportion of the populace, and disregarded the risks of what he describes as ‘mono‐cultural rivalry’. However, whilst Ackerman's diagnosis is correct, his prescription of ‘fully symmetric’ federalism is unlikely to remedy this democratic malaise. As this response shows, there is l…
Majoritarianism Reinterpreted
Comparative analyses have frequently cast the UK as a paradigm of majoritarianism, wherein a power-hoarding executive dominates parliament and policymaking. Yet, this article contends that existing studies have paid insufficient attention to the opportunities for opposition parties to affect policymaking via the legislative arena; and applies a refined version of Powell's index of effective representation to map the institutional conditions that …
Does decentralisation make a difference? Comparing the democratic performance of central and regional governing systems in the United Kingdom
Decentralisation is frequently justified in terms of representation and participation, with its advocates emphasising the capacity of regional institutions to remedy the democratic deficiencies of the centre. Yet empirical examinations of the democratic performance of regional governing systems are scarce, and there is no analysis that systematically compares the operation of different tiers within the same state. This article responds to this si…
Whose Mandate is it Anyway? Brexit, the Constitution and the Contestation of Authority
Over the past year, a seemingly relentless barrage of Brexit‐related challenges has besieged the British constitution, which together have called into question the legitimacy of the political system. Yet, although it is tempting to regard the decision to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union as precipitating an acute constitutional crisis, this article argues that political and democratic dilemmas arising from Brexit are…
Patterns of democracy
Letting go and holding on
This article analyses the politics of performance management in the United Kingdom, focusing on the extent to which a highly centralised Westminster majoritarian polity has encouraged the top-down control of public services. It does so by comparing the approaches to performance management that prevailed under the Labour Governments (1997–2010) and the Coalition (2010–2015) to demonstrate the degree of continuity that exists between the ostensibly…
Inaction and reaction – Coalition government and constitutional reform in the United Kingdom
The watchdogs of ‘Washminster’ – parliamentary scrutiny of executive patronage in the UK
The role of legislatures in scrutinising executive patronage has received scant attention in the context of parliamentary democracy. This article addresses this lacuna by focusing on the parliamentary scrutiny of public appointments in the UK. Presenting the results of an extensive programme of research, it reveals how select committees have accrued increasing powers to challenge ministerial appointments, and how this has resulted in a series of …
The capacity to co-ordinate – Whitehall, governance and the challenge of climate change
The issue of government capacity is at the heart of the governance narrative, and the emergence of an increasingly fragmented policy arena has been seen to result in a process of ‘hollowing-out’. Yet, despite nearly two decades of scholarship, the disjuncture between the increasing intricacy of the policy landscape and effectiveness of governments’ institutional responses suggests that the focus upon complexity and fragmentation within governance…
Constitutional stretching
This article seeks to examine how the emergence of coalition governance within the UK poses fresh challenges not just to the politicians and officials who must govern through a new pattern of relationships, but also to scholars who must develop new tools of political analysis in terms of concepts, theories and methods. It is in this context that article examines the changing nature of governance in the UK and particularly how political and admini…
Political Recruitment Beyond Elections
Flowing out of wider debates regarding representative democracy, the diversity of political institutions has gained salience. Normatively, it is suggested that it is simply unfair for white, middle‐aged males to dominate decision‐making structures. Instead it has been argued that representative diversity can enhance the legitimacy of political institutions and processes, whilst improving the quality and inclusivity of policy‐making. Although most…
Are Public Bodies Still ‘Male, Pale and Stale’? Examining Diversity in UK Public Appointments 1997–2010
There has been a notable surge in research on the shift from elected government to appointed governance. As the work of public bodies and the decisions made by their board members can impact upon the everyday lives of citizens, the extent to which their boards are both representative and diverse is of great salience. Focusing on the boards of public bodies in the UK, this article explores whether the Labour government's ambition to improve divers…
Thematic Review
The concept of ‘governance’ denotes a shift in the distribution of power within and beyond modern democracies and state systems. At the heart of this shift lies a normative preference for disaggregating large bureaucratic state structures into smaller, more flexible, single-purpose organisational units. This process poses distinct questions regarding the capacity of elected politicians to control or coordinate this sphere of delegated governance.…
Thematic Review
The concept of ‘governance’ denotes a shift in the distribution of power within and beyond modern democracies and state systems. At the heart of this shift lies a normative preference for disaggregating large bureaucratic state structures into smaller, more flexible, single-purpose organisational units. This process poses distinct questions regarding the capacity of elected politicians to control or coordinate this sphere of delegated governance.…
The value of ‘between-election’ political participation
Responding to the crisis of democracy, legislatures worldwide are developing new participatory mechanisms to promote parliamentary engagement and provide additional opportunities for citizens to influence policymaking. Yet despite the prevalence of such initiatives, little is known about whether political elites are receptive to public input. This article addresses this important gap, presenting original research that examines the e-petition syst…
Enacting Accountability Under Populist Pressures
While populism challenges the pluralism and technocratic expertise on which public bureaucracies are based, extant scholarship has overlooked its effects on accountability processes. In particular, it neglects the impact of anti-elite rhetoric, characterized by what can be regarded as “emotionalized blame attribution,” on the thinking and behavior of accountability actors. Responding to this gap, this article examines the impact of this distincti…
Whose Mandate is it Anyway? Brexit, the Constitution and the Contestation of Authority
Over the past year, a seemingly relentless barrage of Brexit‐related challenges has besieged the British constitution, which together have called into question the legitimacy of the political system. Yet, although it is tempting to regard the decision to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union as precipitating an acute constitutional crisis, this article argues that political and democratic dilemmas arising from Brexit are…
Letting go and holding on
This article analyses the politics of performance management in the United Kingdom, focusing on the extent to which a highly centralised Westminster majoritarian polity has encouraged the top-down control of public services. It does so by comparing the approaches to performance management that prevailed under the Labour Governments (1997–2010) and the Coalition (2010–2015) to demonstrate the degree of continuity that exists between the ostensibly…
Political Recruitment Beyond Elections
Flowing out of wider debates regarding representative democracy, the diversity of political institutions has gained salience. Normatively, it is suggested that it is simply unfair for white, middle‐aged males to dominate decision‐making structures. Instead it has been argued that representative diversity can enhance the legitimacy of political institutions and processes, whilst improving the quality and inclusivity of policy‐making. Although most…
Parliamentary scrutiny of executive patronage
While executive patronage brings important benefits in terms of governance and control, political influence over the selection of agency staff entails a democratic dilemma: how should the exercise of executive patronage be controlled? This article addresses this critical issue, examining Westminster's system of pre‐appointment scrutiny by analysing an original database that encompasses every pre‐appointment hearing held between 2007 and 2018. The…
Are Public Bodies Still ‘Male, Pale and Stale’? Examining Diversity in UK Public Appointments 1997–2010
There has been a notable surge in research on the shift from elected government to appointed governance. As the work of public bodies and the decisions made by their board members can impact upon the everyday lives of citizens, the extent to which their boards are both representative and diverse is of great salience. Focusing on the boards of public bodies in the UK, this article explores whether the Labour government's ambition to improve divers…
Patterns of democracy
Inaction and reaction – Coalition government and constitutional reform in the United Kingdom
The watchdogs of ‘Washminster’ – parliamentary scrutiny of executive patronage in the UK
The role of legislatures in scrutinising executive patronage has received scant attention in the context of parliamentary democracy. This article addresses this lacuna by focusing on the parliamentary scrutiny of public appointments in the UK. Presenting the results of an extensive programme of research, it reveals how select committees have accrued increasing powers to challenge ministerial appointments, and how this has resulted in a series of …
Constitutional stretching
This article seeks to examine how the emergence of coalition governance within the UK poses fresh challenges not just to the politicians and officials who must govern through a new pattern of relationships, but also to scholars who must develop new tools of political analysis in terms of concepts, theories and methods. It is in this context that article examines the changing nature of governance in the UK and particularly how political and admini…
Between everyday politics and political elites
Majoritarianism Reinterpreted
Comparative analyses have frequently cast the UK as a paradigm of majoritarianism, wherein a power-hoarding executive dominates parliament and policymaking. Yet, this article contends that existing studies have paid insufficient attention to the opportunities for opposition parties to affect policymaking via the legislative arena; and applies a refined version of Powell's index of effective representation to map the institutional conditions that …
The capacity to co-ordinate – Whitehall, governance and the challenge of climate change
The issue of government capacity is at the heart of the governance narrative, and the emergence of an increasingly fragmented policy arena has been seen to result in a process of ‘hollowing-out’. Yet, despite nearly two decades of scholarship, the disjuncture between the increasing intricacy of the policy landscape and effectiveness of governments’ institutional responses suggests that the focus upon complexity and fragmentation within governance…
Formal rules, informal norms and the everyday practice of coalition governance
Despite the significant attention devoted to their birth and death, the day-to-day operation of coalition government remains understudied. This article addresses this lacuna and sheds light on the dynamics of coalition governance by examining the interplay between macro-level institutions, meso-level values and micro-level practices. Focusing on the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition that governed the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2015, …
Does decentralisation make a difference? Comparing the democratic performance of central and regional governing systems in the United Kingdom
Decentralisation is frequently justified in terms of representation and participation, with its advocates emphasising the capacity of regional institutions to remedy the democratic deficiencies of the centre. Yet empirical examinations of the democratic performance of regional governing systems are scarce, and there is no analysis that systematically compares the operation of different tiers within the same state. This article responds to this si…
Thematic Review
The concept of ‘governance’ denotes a shift in the distribution of power within and beyond modern democracies and state systems. At the heart of this shift lies a normative preference for disaggregating large bureaucratic state structures into smaller, more flexible, single-purpose organisational units. This process poses distinct questions regarding the capacity of elected politicians to control or coordinate this sphere of delegated governance.…
Constitutional stretching
This article seeks to examine how the emergence of coalition governance within the UK poses fresh challenges not just to the politicians and officials who must govern through a new pattern of relationships, but also to scholars who must develop new tools of political analysis in terms of concepts, theories and methods. It is in this context that article examines the changing nature of governance in the UK and particularly how political and admini…
Political Recruitment Beyond Elections
Flowing out of wider debates regarding representative democracy, the diversity of political institutions has gained salience. Normatively, it is suggested that it is simply unfair for white, middle‐aged males to dominate decision‐making structures. Instead it has been argued that representative diversity can enhance the legitimacy of political institutions and processes, whilst improving the quality and inclusivity of policy‐making. Although most…
Are Public Bodies Still ‘Male, Pale and Stale’? Examining Diversity in UK Public Appointments 1997–2010
There has been a notable surge in research on the shift from elected government to appointed governance. As the work of public bodies and the decisions made by their board members can impact upon the everyday lives of citizens, the extent to which their boards are both representative and diverse is of great salience. Focusing on the boards of public bodies in the UK, this article explores whether the Labour government's ambition to improve divers…
The capacity to co-ordinate – Whitehall, governance and the challenge of climate change
The issue of government capacity is at the heart of the governance narrative, and the emergence of an increasingly fragmented policy arena has been seen to result in a process of ‘hollowing-out’. Yet, despite nearly two decades of scholarship, the disjuncture between the increasing intricacy of the policy landscape and effectiveness of governments’ institutional responses suggests that the focus upon complexity and fragmentation within governance…
Inaction and reaction – Coalition government and constitutional reform in the United Kingdom
The watchdogs of ‘Washminster’ – parliamentary scrutiny of executive patronage in the UK
The role of legislatures in scrutinising executive patronage has received scant attention in the context of parliamentary democracy. This article addresses this lacuna by focusing on the parliamentary scrutiny of public appointments in the UK. Presenting the results of an extensive programme of research, it reveals how select committees have accrued increasing powers to challenge ministerial appointments, and how this has resulted in a series of …
Patterns of democracy
Letting go and holding on
This article analyses the politics of performance management in the United Kingdom, focusing on the extent to which a highly centralised Westminster majoritarian polity has encouraged the top-down control of public services. It does so by comparing the approaches to performance management that prevailed under the Labour Governments (1997–2010) and the Coalition (2010–2015) to demonstrate the degree of continuity that exists between the ostensibly…
Does decentralisation make a difference? Comparing the democratic performance of central and regional governing systems in the United Kingdom
Decentralisation is frequently justified in terms of representation and participation, with its advocates emphasising the capacity of regional institutions to remedy the democratic deficiencies of the centre. Yet empirical examinations of the democratic performance of regional governing systems are scarce, and there is no analysis that systematically compares the operation of different tiers within the same state. This article responds to this si…
Whose Mandate is it Anyway? Brexit, the Constitution and the Contestation of Authority
Over the past year, a seemingly relentless barrage of Brexit‐related challenges has besieged the British constitution, which together have called into question the legitimacy of the political system. Yet, although it is tempting to regard the decision to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union as precipitating an acute constitutional crisis, this article argues that political and democratic dilemmas arising from Brexit are…
Formal rules, informal norms and the everyday practice of coalition governance
Despite the significant attention devoted to their birth and death, the day-to-day operation of coalition government remains understudied. This article addresses this lacuna and sheds light on the dynamics of coalition governance by examining the interplay between macro-level institutions, meso-level values and micro-level practices. Focusing on the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition that governed the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2015, …
Fully Symmetric Federalism—a Bold Idea, but One that's not Demanded
Britain, Bruce Ackerman argues, has ‘muddled its way into a curious arrangement’ of asymmetric devolution, which has dis‐united the Kingdom, disempowered a significant proportion of the populace, and disregarded the risks of what he describes as ‘mono‐cultural rivalry’. However, whilst Ackerman's diagnosis is correct, his prescription of ‘fully symmetric’ federalism is unlikely to remedy this democratic malaise. As this response shows, there is l…
Majoritarianism Reinterpreted
Comparative analyses have frequently cast the UK as a paradigm of majoritarianism, wherein a power-hoarding executive dominates parliament and policymaking. Yet, this article contends that existing studies have paid insufficient attention to the opportunities for opposition parties to affect policymaking via the legislative arena; and applies a refined version of Powell's index of effective representation to map the institutional conditions that …
Parliamentary scrutiny of executive patronage
While executive patronage brings important benefits in terms of governance and control, political influence over the selection of agency staff entails a democratic dilemma: how should the exercise of executive patronage be controlled? This article addresses this critical issue, examining Westminster's system of pre‐appointment scrutiny by analysing an original database that encompasses every pre‐appointment hearing held between 2007 and 2018. The…
The value of ‘between-election’ political participation
Responding to the crisis of democracy, legislatures worldwide are developing new participatory mechanisms to promote parliamentary engagement and provide additional opportunities for citizens to influence policymaking. Yet despite the prevalence of such initiatives, little is known about whether political elites are receptive to public input. This article addresses this important gap, presenting original research that examines the e-petition syst…
Between everyday politics and political elites
Enacting Accountability Under Populist Pressures
While populism challenges the pluralism and technocratic expertise on which public bureaucracies are based, extant scholarship has overlooked its effects on accountability processes. In particular, it neglects the impact of anti-elite rhetoric, characterized by what can be regarded as “emotionalized blame attribution,” on the thinking and behavior of accountability actors. Responding to this gap, this article examines the impact of this distincti…
The performance of accountability and the treatment of experts by politicians
While recent research on policy making and implementation has shifted analytical attention from formal to informal or voluntary accountability processes, there remains a lack of systematic attention to the individual-level dynamics of accountability. Similarly, existing research has largely overlooked the intra-institutional dynamics of the accountability ‘forum’ and the diverse and often politicised ways that accountability processes are deploye…
Law (18 obras) · Political science (18 obras) · Public Administration (17 obras) · Sociology (17 obras) · Law (16 obras) · Politics (16 obras) · Public Administration (15 obras) · Economics (14 obras) · Political economy (13 obras) · Democracy (11 obras)