Subversive citizens
Power, agency and resistance in public services
Edited by Marian Barnes and David Prior
Published
Jul 29, 2009Page count
248 pagesISBN
978-1847422071Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jul 29, 2009Page count
248 pagesISBN
978-1847422088Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy Press
Subversive citizens
Many of the recent reforms in public services in the UK have been driven by the image of the 'responsible citizen' - the service user who does not only have rights to receive services but also has responsibilities for the delivery of policy outcomes. In this way, citizens' everyday conduct is shaped by governmental action, yet there is much evidence that both front-line staff in public services and the people who use them can sometimes act in ways that modify, disrupt or negate intended policy outcomes.
"Subversive citizens" presents a highly original examination of how official policy objectives can be 'subverted' through the actions of staff and users. It discusses the role of public policy in the creation of 'good citizenship', such as making appropriate choices about what to eat and how much to save, to being an active participant in the local community. It also examines how the roles of service delivery staff have changed substantially, and how theories of 'power' and 'agency' are useful in analysing the engagement between public policies (and those employed to deliver them) and the citizens at whom they are targeted.
The idea of subversive citizenship is explored through theoretical and empirical analyses by a range of prominent social researchers and will be of interest to students of social policy, sociology, criminology, politics and related disciplines, as well as policy makers involved in public services.
"This timely book is essential reading, offering highly original and critical insights into the policy process in its contemporary context." Marjorie Mayo, Professor of Community Development, Goldsmith's College, University of London
"...this book forms a welcome addition to the current literature." Maurice Specht in Critical Policy Studies
"This is an exciting and sustained interrogation of the social relations of 'responsible' welfare at the point of delivery. It transposes and transforms Lipsky's notion of 'the street level bureaucrat' by exploring agency, counter-agency and subversion within contemporary welfare governance. A must-read." Fiona Williams, Professor of Social Policy, University of Leeds
"This edited collection makes an outstanding contribution to the debate in a provocative, compelling and original way. It is rare indeed for an edited collection to have the conceptual coherence and sense of lively dialogue on display across its chapters. This is a must read for policy makers and practitioners, social science researchers and students, and, of course, potentially subversive citizens." Professor Gordon Hughes, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
Mayo's testimonial in reviews
Hughes has also written a quote for Securing Respect
Marian Barnes is Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Social Science, Policy and Research Centre at the University of Brighton. She has undertaken extensive research in aspects of user involvement and public participation in health and social care, children's services and local governance.
David Prior is Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of Applied Social Studies, School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham. His research has focused specifically on community safety and antisocial behaviour and more broadly on issues of citizenship and local governance.
Part one: Introduction: Examining the idea of 'subversion' in public services ~ Marian Barnes and David Prior; Part two: Perspectives on subversive citizenship: Policy, power and the potential for counter-agency ~ David Prior; Alliances, contention and oppositional consciousness: can public participation generate subversion? ~ Marian Barnes; Subversive spheres: neighbourhoods, citizens and the 'new governance' ~ Helen Sullivan; Narrating subversion, assembling citizenship ~ Janet Newman and John Clarke; Subversive subjects and conditional, earned and denied citizenship ~ John Flint; Part three: Subversive citizens in public service settings: Family Intervention Projects: sites of subversion and resilience ~ Sadie Parr and Judy Nixon; Family decision making: new spaces for participation and resistance ~ Kate Morris and Gale Burford; Subversive attachments: gendered, raced and professional realignments in the 'new' NHS ~ Shona Hunter; Managerialism subverted? Exploring the activity of youth justice practitioners ~ Nathan Hughes; Awkward customers? Policing in a consumer age ~ Louise Westmarland and John Clarke; Part four: Conclusion: 'Subversion' and the analysis of public policy ~ David Prior and Marian Barnes.
