Localism as restorative politics; social capital and anti-politics in the London Borough of Burgundia

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to explore the political implications of policies and measures designed to promote “localism”. That is to say, the devolution of power down to a neighbourhood level, as enacted under the 2011 Localism Act. The implementation of localism in London boroughs will be examined. The context is the current concern over disengagement in an era of “anti-politics”, so it is intended to gain an understanding of how localism is interpreted and implemented on the ground. A tentative thesis, of a “restorative politics”, is proposed, such that localism is dynamic and is generating healthy political activity which counters anti-politics in the local community. This could have profound implications for the political parties locally and at Westminster. The extant theories about localism include constructivist interpretations suggesting that a neo-liberal localism is anti-political. This is contested. An emerging narrative heralding a new dawn of empowerment, and related themes concerning social capital, subsidiarity and anti-politics are reviewed. A necessarily empirical approach is adopted in an essentially functionalist frame of reference. There is a review of both academic and policy literature, combined with interviews of professionals involved in localism. This paper is designed to scope a future more substantial piece of research. The conference brief asks; “what scales or levels are appropriate for organising politics in this century”. In a century so far characterised by disillusionment, democratic deficits and abstention, the answer may be; local. The Good Life is lived locally in shared experience and familiar surroundings, hitherto not much amenable to local change. Burgundia is a reference to the film “Passport to Pimlico” (1949), when ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to explore the political implications of policies and measures designed to promote “localism”. That is to say, the devolution of power down to a neighbourhood level, as enacted under the 2011 Localism Act. The implementation of localism in London boroughs will be examined. The context is the current concern over disengagement in an era of “anti-politics”, so it is intended to gain an understanding of how localism is interpreted and implemented on the ground. A tentative thesis, of a “restorative politics”, is proposed, such that localism is dynamic and is generating healthy political activity which counters anti-politics in the local community. This could have profound implications for the political parties locally and at Westminster. The extant theories about localism include constructivist interpretations suggesting that a neo-liberal localism is anti-political. This is contested. An emerging narrative heralding a new dawn of empowerment, and related themes concerning social capital, subsidiarity and anti-politics are reviewed. A necessarily empirical approach is adopted in an essentially functionalist frame of reference. There is a review of both academic and policy literature, combined with interviews of professionals involved in localism. This paper is designed to scope a future more substantial piece of research. The conference brief asks; “what scales or levels are appropriate for organising politics in this century”. In a century so far characterised by disillusionment, democratic deficits and abstention, the answer may be; local. The Good Life is lived locally in shared experience and familiar surroundings, hitherto not much amenable to local change. Burgundia is a reference to the film “Passport to Pimlico” (1949), when a London neighbourhood declared independence and its citizens temporarily created the Good Life for themselves. Is the 21st century localism generating a restorative politics?

The impact of safety politics in the current globalization context

The globalization is a process of economical, social, cultural and political integration motivated by the needs generated by a consumption-orientated society and a set of factors that have led to its development, such as reducing transport costs, the technological advancement and the development of communication networks. However, the phenomenon of globalization has been accompanied by increasing levels of insecurity as a result of various types of threats and transnational crimes that the International Community seeks to control and minimize. Throughout this work, we examined how the globalization process has been developing and how nations are able to maintain security levels consistent with their economical status and social development, without disturbing the normal course of organizations’ economical activity and the well-being of people. From the investigation developed we concluded that, besides the confirmation that economic integration and the opening of markets have influence on internal consumption, market globalization and migrations have been causing modifications in the consumption habits. We also concluded that the security measures implemented by States or by the International Community affect international trade, but do not imply disproportionate costs or significant delays in transactions. Likewise, we concluded that the control measures implemented in international trade are sufficient to ensure the safety of the people and nations, enabling us to confirm two of the three conjectures raised in this study.

Managing Antimicrobial Resistance In Food Production : Conflicts Of Interest And Politics In The Development Of Public Health Policy

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing public health concern and is associated with the over or inappropriate use of antimicrobials in both humans and agriculture. While there has been recognition of this problem on the part of agricultural and public health authorities, there has nonetheless been significant difficulty in translating policy recommendations into practical guidelines. In this paper, we examine the process of public health policy development in Quebec agriculture, with a focus on the case of pork production and the role of food animal veterinarians in policy making. We argue that a tendency to employ strictly techno-scientific risk analyses of antimicrobial use ignores the fundamental social, economic and political realities of key stakeholders and so limits the applicability of policy recommendations developed by government advisory groups. In particular, we suggest that veterinarians’ personal and professional interests, and their ethical norms of practice, are key factors to both the problem of and the solution to the current over-reliance on antimicrobials in food production.

EU integration and party politics in the Balkans. EPC Issue Paper No.77, September 2014

Throughout the Balkan region, popularly elected leaders consistently fail to meet the democratic standards set by the EU and, more importantly, they fall short of their voters’ expectations. Distrust in representative institutions and disengagement from political life runs dramatically high among the people of the Balkan countries, and this generalised sense of dissatisfaction is starting to breed cynicism also towards the idea of a better future inside the Union. This study highlights the interplay between EU integration and national politics in the region, and that both are consequential for the quality of Balkan democracies, as well as reminiscent of the Western and Central and Eastern European experience.

Recent Changes in European Welfare State Services: A Comparison of Child Care Politics in the U.K., Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. CES Germany & Europe Working Papers, No. 07.6, 1997

This paper examines recent policies and politics of services, in particular child care services in European welfare states. It is argued that social (care) services are becoming an increasingly political issue in postindustrial societies and are at the very center of welfare-state restructuring. Some countries have recently developed new policy pro­ grams for child care-but there are important differences among these programs. To understand these differences as well as some common features, the paper argues that it is necessary to examine the institutional organization of child care and short-term political factors as well as the rationales articulated in political debates to support or im­ pede various policies. The paper concludes that a comprehensive system of child care provisions is still far off in most countries, despite a rhetoric of choice and postindustrial care and labor-market patterns.