2013 Policy & Politics Conference
Transforming Policy & Politics: The Future of the State in the 21st Century
Marriot Hotel, Bristol
17th-18th September 2013
In recent years significant transformations in global politics and finance have placed new and unprecedented pressures on the State. These events have included the volatility and uncertainty of global finance and institutions, a reconfiguration of the global political economy, civic unrest and heightened religious tensions, the risks posed by climate change and the implications of new technologies. This precarious environment has resulted in a transformation of policy and politics where the endpoint remains quite uncertain. This raises a number of distinct issues, including the challenges of post-crisis state management, a reframing of the welfare state, the blurring of boundaries between the public and private, the management of large scale public reforms, the rescaling of state authority, the politics and management of public expectations and the implications for social justice. Within this context, the conference seeks to address the following questions:- What challenges do recent global and domestic events pose for public and social policy?
- How are the state, public organisations, non-governmental organisations and citizens responding?
- What are the implications for democracy, politics and public services?
- What is the future of the welfare state?
Papers are invited in any areas of public or social policy. In writing their papers authors are requested to reflect on the conference theme.
Plenary Speakers
Professor Liesbet Hooghe, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States and VU University, Amsterdam
Goodbye to the Nation State? The Rise of Multi-level Governance Below and Above the State
Professor Bob Jessop, Lancaster University, UK
State Restructuring and Crises of Crisis-Management: What Future for the State?
Professor John Keane, University of Sydney, Australia
The Life and Death of the Democratic State
Professor Eva Sorensen, Roskilde Universitet, Denmark
Political leadership and interactive governance