Decentring Policy Networks: A Theoretical Agenda

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2008.01736.x DECENTRING POLICY NETWORKS: A THEORETICAL AGENDA MARK BEVIR AND DAVID RICHARDS This introduction starts by specifying the theoretical and analytical framework underpinning the range of essays in this special issue. It then provides an overview of the existing literature on policy networks and network governance in order to identify what a decentred approach might contribute. What follows is an account of decentred theory, a discussion of the potential alternatives it can offer to existing accounts and how these might be achieved through reconstruct- ing networks by appealing to notions of situated agency and tradition; it concludes by considering the potential methodologies to be employed, with particular emphasis on ethnography. INTRODUCTION Policy networks consist of governmental and societal actors whose interactions with one another give rise to policies. They are actors linked through informal practices as well as (or even instead of) formal institutions. Typically, they operate through inter- dependent relationships, with a view to trying to secure their individual goals by col- laborating with each other. Policy networks have long been a topic of study in the social sciences. More recently, they have been central to the literature on governance, which is often described as rule by and through networks. The essays in this special issue explore both the use and limitations of a decentred theory of policy networks and network governance. To decentre is to focus on the social construction of a practice through the ability of individuals to create and act on meanings. It is to unpack a practice in terms of the disparate and contingent beliefs and actions of individuals. A decentred governance approach involves challenging the idea that inexorable, imper- sonal forces are driving a shift from hierarchies to networks. Instead, it suggests that networks are constructed differently by many actors against the background of diverse traditions. Adopting decentred theory, the contributors to this special issue attempt: • to use textual and/or ethnographic analysis to explore the meanings found in a policy arena; • where appropriate, to highlight competing, diverse sets of meaning in that policy arena; • to reﬂect on the contingent historical roots of the relevant meanings – the traditions against the background of which the meanings arose. This introductory essay explores the theory behind this research agenda, locating it in relation to the current literature on policy networks. The concluding essay both sum- marizes the main themes of the papers and reﬂects on the experience of working with decentred theory, examining its strengths and weaknesses, the problems that arose in applying it, and lessons for future research. Mark Bevir is Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley. David Richards is a Reader in the Department of Politics, University of Shefﬁeld. Public Administration Vol. 87, No. 1, 2009 (3–14) © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.