Murray, Michael and Fagan, Honor and McCusker, Paul
(2009)
Measuring horizontal governance: a review of public
consultation by the Northern Ireland government
between 2000 and 2004.
Policy and Politics, 37 (4).
pp. 553-571.
ISSN 0305 5736
Abstract
This article examines the use of public consultation by the Northern Ireland central
government between the years of 2000 and 2004. Key findings suggest a general enthusiasm
for its use by government and citizens, despite the identification of challenges including
lack of resources as well as ‘consultation fatigue’. In addition, divergences exist between
the aims and expectations of administrators and those of citizens and the community
and voluntary sector on the contentious issue of what should constitute ‘participation’.
Reflecting a key debate in the literature on whether the use of mechanisms such as public
consultation signals the emergence of autonomous, horizontal networks of governance,
it is argued here that instead, the way in which public consultation was used indicates a
continuance of centralised, hierarchical government.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
governance; consultation; Northern Ireland; participation; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology |
| Item ID: |
11962 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1332/030557309X462556 |
| Depositing User: |
Honor Fagan
|
| Date Deposited: |
03 Dec 2019 11:26 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Policy and Politics |
| Publisher: |
The Policy Press |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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