Neil Barnett
Biographic Data
| ID | 4128747 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Neil Barnett |
| GIVEN NAMES | Neil |
| FAMILY NAME | Barnett |
| SIGNATURE | BARNETT N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Leeds Beckett University |
| ORCID | 0009-0003-8151-4256 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 57 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Serial adapters? Local government chief officers and the navigation of space and time
This article analyses the everyday practices of ‘doing’ socio-spatial relations, drawing upon a series of in-depth interviews with local authority chief officers from across the UK. It argues that for chief officers ‘thinking spatially’ is played out in and through the practice of leadership on the move as they navigate the multiple spaces and temporalities that constitute the landscape of local government. Such leadership on the move resonates i…
Meeting the critical challenge
In this Editorial for the 50th Anniversary special issue of Local Government Studies, the journal's Editorial team set the context for this celebration. We draw on a bibliometric analysis of papers published in LGS over the last five decades to highlight how it has evolved from a largely practitioner- and UK-focused publication into an internationally-renowned academic journal that draws on increasingly sophisticated methods, theories and approac…
Local agency for the public purpose? Dissecting and evaluating the emerging discourses of municipal entrepreneurship in the UK
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link
English local government and the local trap
Local government in England faces unprecedented challenges, with ten years of austerity adding to longer-term concerns over its waning influence. Responses so far have involved dismissing local government for more radical alternatives or re-iterating increasingly shaky defences. I argue that resetting the debate around local government requires firstly addressing the meanings we have assigned to the local, which are at presentconstrained by the ‘…
Guest editors’ introduction
This article contends that the study of UK local government, its institutions and actors, is an increasingly ‘niche’ pursuit. We argue that the field is caught in a common sense narrative that plays off local government institutional decline against widespread belief in the future democratic and progressive value of the council-to-come. Identifying persistent appeals to such deficiency narratives, we thus suggest that ‘actually existing’ local go…
Whatever Happened to Councillors? Problematising the Deficiency Narrative in English Local Politics
Calls for councillors to change are nothing new, even from staunch defenders of local democracy. But one critical question has been sidestepped: Why have councillors been persistently constructed as a ‘problem’ for local government? This article draws upon Foucault to detect the emergence and sedimentation of an overriding problematisation of councillors. Our genealogical analysis of a range of public commissions and inquiries, policy documents a…
Local Government at the Nexus
The modernisation of local government in the UK, pursued by Labour governments since 1997, has covered many, often conflicting elements. Councils have been encouraged to be both strategic 'place shapers' and also involved in the nurturing of democratic engagement. This latter theme of 'democratic renewal' has in itself contained paradoxical elements, but has been a consistent focus of attention. This debate around democratic renewal has also take…
What Has Politics Got to Do With Business
This article examines the relationship between ‘business’ and ‘politics’ and sets out some arguments to show the relevance of politics to business studies. It then reports some research findings on the nature of business studies curricula and the perceptions of academics and students on the relevance of politics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels from a survey of UK universities
New Choices for England' Sub-National Government
Referendums in three northern regions may not only decide the future of English regional devolution, but also radically alter the structure of English local government. Unitary local authorities may ultimately be introduced everywhere after decades of abortive reforms, not because of their perceived advantages, but as the casual by-product of regional devolution, and fears that England might otherwise appear over-governed. This article reviews th…
Local government, New Labour and ‘Active Welfare
The paradoxes within the ‘modernising’ project for local government have been well documented. However, these can be used to locate the local government agenda within broader changes to the welfare state. New Labour, in line with Third Way thinking, are attempting to create an ‘active welfare’ state, which stresses rights and responsibilities. Key elements here are duty to become involved and take up opportunities. As a part of the welfare system…
The new public management and the local government review
(1997). The new public management and the local government review. Local Government Studies: Vol. 23, Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath, pp. 39-55
Guest editors’ introduction
This article contends that the study of UK local government, its institutions and actors, is an increasingly ‘niche’ pursuit. We argue that the field is caught in a common sense narrative that plays off local government institutional decline against widespread belief in the future democratic and progressive value of the council-to-come. Identifying persistent appeals to such deficiency narratives, we thus suggest that ‘actually existing’ local go…
Local Government at the Nexus
The modernisation of local government in the UK, pursued by Labour governments since 1997, has covered many, often conflicting elements. Councils have been encouraged to be both strategic 'place shapers' and also involved in the nurturing of democratic engagement. This latter theme of 'democratic renewal' has in itself contained paradoxical elements, but has been a consistent focus of attention. This debate around democratic renewal has also take…
Local agency for the public purpose? Dissecting and evaluating the emerging discourses of municipal entrepreneurship in the UK
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link
English local government and the local trap
Local government in England faces unprecedented challenges, with ten years of austerity adding to longer-term concerns over its waning influence. Responses so far have involved dismissing local government for more radical alternatives or re-iterating increasingly shaky defences. I argue that resetting the debate around local government requires firstly addressing the meanings we have assigned to the local, which are at presentconstrained by the ‘…
Local government, New Labour and ‘Active Welfare
The paradoxes within the ‘modernising’ project for local government have been well documented. However, these can be used to locate the local government agenda within broader changes to the welfare state. New Labour, in line with Third Way thinking, are attempting to create an ‘active welfare’ state, which stresses rights and responsibilities. Key elements here are duty to become involved and take up opportunities. As a part of the welfare system…
Meeting the critical challenge
In this Editorial for the 50th Anniversary special issue of Local Government Studies, the journal's Editorial team set the context for this celebration. We draw on a bibliometric analysis of papers published in LGS over the last five decades to highlight how it has evolved from a largely practitioner- and UK-focused publication into an internationally-renowned academic journal that draws on increasingly sophisticated methods, theories and approac…
Whatever Happened to Councillors? Problematising the Deficiency Narrative in English Local Politics
Calls for councillors to change are nothing new, even from staunch defenders of local democracy. But one critical question has been sidestepped: Why have councillors been persistently constructed as a ‘problem’ for local government? This article draws upon Foucault to detect the emergence and sedimentation of an overriding problematisation of councillors. Our genealogical analysis of a range of public commissions and inquiries, policy documents a…
Serial adapters? Local government chief officers and the navigation of space and time
This article analyses the everyday practices of ‘doing’ socio-spatial relations, drawing upon a series of in-depth interviews with local authority chief officers from across the UK. It argues that for chief officers ‘thinking spatially’ is played out in and through the practice of leadership on the move as they navigate the multiple spaces and temporalities that constitute the landscape of local government. Such leadership on the move resonates i…
What Has Politics Got to Do With Business
This article examines the relationship between ‘business’ and ‘politics’ and sets out some arguments to show the relevance of politics to business studies. It then reports some research findings on the nature of business studies curricula and the perceptions of academics and students on the relevance of politics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels from a survey of UK universities
The new public management and the local government review
(1997). The new public management and the local government review. Local Government Studies: Vol. 23, Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath, pp. 39-55
Local government, New Labour and ‘Active Welfare
The paradoxes within the ‘modernising’ project for local government have been well documented. However, these can be used to locate the local government agenda within broader changes to the welfare state. New Labour, in line with Third Way thinking, are attempting to create an ‘active welfare’ state, which stresses rights and responsibilities. Key elements here are duty to become involved and take up opportunities. As a part of the welfare system…
New Choices for England' Sub-National Government
Referendums in three northern regions may not only decide the future of English regional devolution, but also radically alter the structure of English local government. Unitary local authorities may ultimately be introduced everywhere after decades of abortive reforms, not because of their perceived advantages, but as the casual by-product of regional devolution, and fears that England might otherwise appear over-governed. This article reviews th…
What Has Politics Got to Do With Business
This article examines the relationship between ‘business’ and ‘politics’ and sets out some arguments to show the relevance of politics to business studies. It then reports some research findings on the nature of business studies curricula and the perceptions of academics and students on the relevance of politics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels from a survey of UK universities
Local Government at the Nexus
The modernisation of local government in the UK, pursued by Labour governments since 1997, has covered many, often conflicting elements. Councils have been encouraged to be both strategic 'place shapers' and also involved in the nurturing of democratic engagement. This latter theme of 'democratic renewal' has in itself contained paradoxical elements, but has been a consistent focus of attention. This debate around democratic renewal has also take…
Whatever Happened to Councillors? Problematising the Deficiency Narrative in English Local Politics
Calls for councillors to change are nothing new, even from staunch defenders of local democracy. But one critical question has been sidestepped: Why have councillors been persistently constructed as a ‘problem’ for local government? This article draws upon Foucault to detect the emergence and sedimentation of an overriding problematisation of councillors. Our genealogical analysis of a range of public commissions and inquiries, policy documents a…
English local government and the local trap
Local government in England faces unprecedented challenges, with ten years of austerity adding to longer-term concerns over its waning influence. Responses so far have involved dismissing local government for more radical alternatives or re-iterating increasingly shaky defences. I argue that resetting the debate around local government requires firstly addressing the meanings we have assigned to the local, which are at presentconstrained by the ‘…
Guest editors’ introduction
This article contends that the study of UK local government, its institutions and actors, is an increasingly ‘niche’ pursuit. We argue that the field is caught in a common sense narrative that plays off local government institutional decline against widespread belief in the future democratic and progressive value of the council-to-come. Identifying persistent appeals to such deficiency narratives, we thus suggest that ‘actually existing’ local go…
Local agency for the public purpose? Dissecting and evaluating the emerging discourses of municipal entrepreneurship in the UK
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link
Serial adapters? Local government chief officers and the navigation of space and time
This article analyses the everyday practices of ‘doing’ socio-spatial relations, drawing upon a series of in-depth interviews with local authority chief officers from across the UK. It argues that for chief officers ‘thinking spatially’ is played out in and through the practice of leadership on the move as they navigate the multiple spaces and temporalities that constitute the landscape of local government. Such leadership on the move resonates i…
Meeting the critical challenge
In this Editorial for the 50th Anniversary special issue of Local Government Studies, the journal's Editorial team set the context for this celebration. We draw on a bibliometric analysis of papers published in LGS over the last five decades to highlight how it has evolved from a largely practitioner- and UK-focused publication into an internationally-renowned academic journal that draws on increasingly sophisticated methods, theories and approac…
Political science (11 works) · Law (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Local government (8 works) · Politics (8 works) · Public Administration (8 works) · Public Administration (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Democracy (5 works) · Political economy (5 works)