Special advisers and the transmission of ideas from the policy primeval soup
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6326568 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Francesca Gains (0000-0001-9815-3870, University of Manchester), Gerry Stoker (0000-0002-8172-3395, University of Southampton) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 485-498 |
| Publication date | 2011-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy & Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-5736 • E-ISSN: 1470-8442 |
| Publisher | Bristol University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1332/030557310x550169 |
| OpenAlex | W2321579626 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 23 |
This article examines the work of ministerial special advisers who play a key but underresearched role in transmitting policy ideas in government. We argue that this focus is necessary to challenge the reification of neoliberalism as an explanatory determinant of policy making. Initially we discuss the literature on the transmission of social science ideas into policy making, contrasting this with a governmentality approach. We then consider the role of UK special advisers, illustrating this empirically by drawing on advisers’ reflections of their role. We conclude by highlighting ambiguity, inconsistency and agency in the takeup and deployment of ideas in policy making
Agency (philosophy · Ambiguity · Economics · Epistemology · Government (linguistics · Governmentality · Neoliberalism (international relations · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Reification (Marxism · Social science · Sociology · Software deployment · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Policy and Reform Studies
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| Unique citing works | 23 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,64 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2026 (15) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 23 |