This book explores the impact of the Board of Trade upon the British state from the early seventeenth century to the early twentieth century. The study argues that for too long historians have overlooked the Board, yet it was a critical force in shaping the British state and in developing its capacity both for economic regulation and for economic development. Focusing on the slave trade and on the textiles, shipping, and infrastructural industries, the authors examine the Board of Trade’s ...

In the years leading up to the outbreak of war in 1914, Britain was collaborating closely with Germany on the development of an improved telegraph service, despite preparations for war also being made by both countries. This cooperation rested upon both states' intensive participation in the global regulatory regime for telecommunications. Why states commit to cooperating in such multilateral regimes with other states while their relationship struggles with deepening mistrust is a longstan...

These two volumes present the most important recent developments in the institutional theory of culture and demonstrate their practical applications. Sometimes called 'grid-group analysis' or 'cultural theory', they derive from the work of Durkheim in the 1880s and 1900s and develop the insights of the anthropologist Mary Douglas and her followers from the 1960s on. First redefined within social and cultural anthropology, the theory's influence is shown in recent years to have permeated al...

Mary Douglas’s innovative explanations for styles of human thought and for the dynamics of institutional change have furnished a distinctive and powerful theory of how conflicts are managed, yet her work remains astonishingly poorly appreciated in social science disciplines. This volume introduces Douglas’s theories, and outlines the ways in which her work is of continuing importance for the future of the social sciences. Mary Douglas: Understanding Human Thought and Conflict show...

This book provides a comprehensive, accessible guide to social science methodology. In so doing, it establishes methodology as distinct from both methods and philosophy.Most existing textbooks deal with methods, or sound ways of collecting and analysing data to generate findings. In contrast, this innovative book shows how an understanding of methodology allows us to design research so that findings can be used to answer interesting research questions and to build and test theories...

This handy, concise book covers the life of Mary Douglas, one of the most important anthropologists of the second half of the 20th century.Her work focused on how human groups classify one another, and how they resolve the anomalies that then arise. Classification, she argued, emerges from practices of social life, and is a factor in all deep and intractable human disputes.This biography offers an introduction to how her distinctive approach developed acros...

The impact of information technology (IT) on government in the last five years has been profound. Using the governments of Canada and Ontario (both recognized as international leaders in the use of IT) as case studies, Digital State at the Leading Edge is the first attempt to take a comprehensive view of the impact of IT upon the whole of government, including politics and campaigning, public consultation, service delivery, knowledge management, and procurement.Using the c...

What is political judgement? Why do politicians exhibit such contrasting thought styles in making decisions, even when they agree ideologically? What happens when governments with contrasting thought styles have to deal with each other? In this book Perri 6 presents a fresh, rigorous explanatory theory of judgement, its varieties and its consequences, drawing upon Durkheim and Douglas. He argues that policy makers will understand - and misunderstand - their problems and choices in ways tha...

This book provides a comprehensive, accessible guide to social science methodology. In so doing, it establishes methodology as distinct from both methods and philosophy.Most existing textbooks deal with methods, or sound ways of collecting and analysing data to generate findings. In contrast, this innovative book shows how an understanding of methodology allows us to design research so that findings can be used to answer interesting research questions and to build and test theories...

This book explores the unintended and unanticipated effects associated with 'modernization' projects and tackles the key question that they provoke - why do policy-makers persist in such enterprises in the face of evidence that they tend to fail? Paradoxes of Modernization first discusses what is meant by 'modernization' and 'unintended consequences', placing public policy reform within more general intellectual and social trends. It presents eight case study 'modernization' proje...

Ian Parker has been a leading light in the fields of critical and discursive psychology for over 25 years. The Psychology After Critique series brings together for the first time his most important papers. Each volume in the series has been prepared by Ian Parker, features a newly written introduction and presents a focused overview of a key topic area.Psychology After the Crisis is the first volume in the series and addresses three important questions:

Foucault - The Key Ideas is a concise introduction to the life, works and ideas of this ground-breaking modern philosopher. This book will not only guide you through the events of Foucault's life and help you to understand his most complex ideas with ease; it will also demonstrate the practical impact of those ideas on life today. Covering everything from Foucault's views on the philosophy and sociology of knowledge to his analysis of power and institutions in society, this book offers a f...