For the first two thirds of the twentieth century, British government was among the most stable in the advanced industrial world. In the last three decades, the governing arrangements have been in turmoil and the country has been a pioneer in economic reform, and in public sector change. In this book, Michael Moran examines and explains the contrast between these two epochs. What turned Britain into a laboratory of political innovation? Britain became a formal democracy at the start of the twentieth century but the practice of government remained oligarchic. From the 1970s this oligarchy collapsed under the pressure of economic crisis. The British regulatory state is being constructed in its place. Moran challenges the prevailing view that this new state is liberal or decentralizing. Instead he argues that it is a new, threatening kind of interventionist state which is colonizing, dominating, and centralizing hitherto independent domains of civil society. The book is essential reading for all those interested in British political development and in the nature and impact of regulation.

About the Author
Michael Moran studied Politics, Economics and Mathematics for his first degree at the University of Lancaster, graduating in 1967. He did his graduate work in the Department of Government at the University of Essex, 1967-70, and was awarded his PhD from Essex in 1975. From 1970 to 1979 he lectured in the Department of Social Science at Manchester Polytechnic (now the Manchester Metropolitan University.) Since 1979 he has worked at the University of Manchester. He became Professor of Government in 1990, and has held the WJM Mackenzie Chair of Government since 2000. Moran's work has been concerned with comparative public policy, the study of regulation and the study of modern British politics.

Reviews
Review from previous edition Moran has provided us with a sophisticated account of contemporary regulatory developments in Britain, drawing on historical, empirical and comparative material to build an elegantly argued thesis. * The Modern Law Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199219216
Author Michael Moran
Format Paperback
Page Count 262
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 424g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 155mm * 15mm