The Politics and Governance of Blame

by Matthew Flinders, Gergana Dimova, Markus Hinterleitner, R. A. W. Rhodes, R. Kent Weaver

Overview

From coping with Covid-19 through to manging climate change, from Brexit through to the barricading of Congress, from democratic disaffection to populist pressures, from historical injustices to contemporary social inequalities, and from scapegoating through to sacrificial lambs... the common thread linking each of these themes and many more is an emphasis on blame.

But how do we know who or what is to blame? How do politicians engage in blame-avoidance strategies? How can blaming backfire or boomerang? Are there situations in which politicians might want to be blamed? What is the relationship between avoiding blame and claiming credit? How do developments in relation to machine learning and algorithmic governance affect blame-based assumptions?

By focusing on the politics and governance of blame from a range of disciplines, perspectives, and standpoints this volume engages with all these questions and many more. Distinctive contributions include an emphasis on peacekeeping and public diplomacy, on source-credibility and anthropological explanations, on cultural bias and on expert opinions, on polarisation and (de)politicisation, and on trust and post-truth politics.

With contributions from the world's leading scholars and emerging research leaders, this volume not only develops the theoretical, disciplinary, empirical, and normative boundaries of blame-based analyses but it also identifies new research agendas and asks distinctive and original questions about the politics and governance of blame.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198896388
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/27/2024
Pages:	800
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.45(h) x 1.85(d)

About the Author

Matthew Flinders is Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield, and Vice President of the Political Studies Association. He is a former board member of the Economic and Social Research Council, and Chair of the Universities Policy Engagement Network. He is the author of editor of eighteen books and over two hundred research articles on governance, public policy, and socio-political change. In addition to his academic work, he has served as a special advisor in both the House of Lords and House of Commons, and he has written and presented a number of documentaries for the BBC.


Gergana Dimova is Associate Professor at Northeastern University London, UK. Her scholarship analyses politics through a range of thematic lenses, such as democracy, blame games, uncertainty, accountability, and the media. Her work has appeared in the journalsDemocratizatsiya, Democratic Theory, Comparative Democratic Theory, Global Media Journal, the Journal of Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Societyand others. Dr Dimova is the commissioning co-editor of Cambridge University Press Elements in the Politics and Society in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She is an associate editor of the journalDemocratic Theoryand the convenor of the Politics and Anti-Politics Specialist Group of the UK Political Science Association. Dr Dimova obtained her MA and PhD from Harvard University and her post-doctoral degree from the University of Cambridge.


Markus Hinterleitner is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Political Institutions at the University of Lausanneâs IDHEAP. He is the author of Policy Controversies and Political Blame Games (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and numerous articles on the politics of blame.

Rod Rhodes is the author or editor of 45 books and 11 journal symposia. He has also published some 200 articles and chapters in books. He previously served as editor in chief of Public Administration and Public Policy and Administration. He currently edits two book series, Political Ethnography for Manchester University Press and Transforming British Government for Palgrave-Macmillan. He was chair and vice-president of the UK's Political Studies Association and Treasurer of the Australasian PSA. He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK).


R. Kent Weaver is Professor of Public Policy and Government at Georgetown University. Weaver's recent research focuses on understanding how political institutions, feedbacks from past policy choices and strategic behaviour of politicians interact to shape public policy choices. He is also interested in understanding the determinants of compliance and non-compliance with public policy across a variety of policy sectors. Weaver is the author and co-author of many books, including The Politics of Industrial Change, Do Institutions Matter?, Ending Welfare As We Know It, and Policy Feedbacks.

Gergana Dimova is Associate Professor at Northeastern University London, UK. Her scholarship analyses politics through a range of thematic lenses, such as democracy, blame games, uncertainty, accountability, and the media. Her work has appeared in the journals Democratizatsiya, Democratic Theory, Comparative Democratic Theory, Global Media Journal, the Journal of Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society and others. Dr Dimova is the commissioning co-editor of Cambridge University Press Elements in the Politics and Society in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She is an associate editor of the journal Democratic Theory and the convenor of the Politics and Anti-Politics Specialist Group of the UK Political Science Association. Dr Dimova obtained her MA and PhD from Harvard University and her post-doctoral degree from the University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Politics of Blame in an Era of Uncertainty, Gergana Dimova, Matthew Flinders, Markus Hinterleitner, R. Kent Weaver, R. A. W. Rhodes1. The State of the Field Maps, Gaps and Traps, Gergana Dimova,Matthew Flinders, Markus Hinterleitner, R. Kent Weaver, R. A. W. RhodesPart 1. UNDERSTANDING BLAME2. Politicians as Blame Seekers, Matthew Flinders, Markus Hinterleitner, Kent Weaver3. Who is Talking? How Source Credibility Affects Presentational Blame Avoidance Strategies, Georg Wenzelburger, Pascal D. König4. The Blame Game and Backstage Politics, John Boswell, R. A. W. RhodesPart 2. BLAME AND DISCIPLINARY DIFFERENCE5. Blame Avoidance and Critical Language Awareness: An Approach from Critical Discourse Studies, Sten Hansson6. An Anthropological Account of Naming, Shaming and Blaming, Andrew Alaszewski7. Political Blame and Praise: How Politicians' Behavior Shapes and Responds to Constituents' Moral Evaluations, Steve Guglielmo, Lesley LaveryPart 3. BLAME AND CREDIT8. Blame Games and Claiming Credit: The Role of Proxies in Peace and War, Maryna Rabinovych, Zuzana Reptova9. Caught in the Middle? Blame Games, Claiming Credit and Ministerial Advisers, Richard Shaw10. Credit Claiming: Motives, Obstacles and Effects on Voters, Pascal König, Pascal KönigPart 4. BLAME AND GOVERNANCE11. The Blame Threshold: Civil Service Leaders and the Politics of Blame, Denis Grube12. Governmental Blame Avoidance in the European Union, Markus Hinterleitner13. Shifting the Deckchairs: How Blame Avoiders Cope with the Loss of a Scapegoat, Christopher Cooper, Thomas Elston, Anna BilousPart 5. BLAME AND EXPERTISE14. When Experts and Public Office Holders Break the Rules, Paul Copeland, Sandra L. Resodihardjo15. The Subtle Art of Not Pointing the Finger, Joram Feitsma, Thomas Schillemans16. 'Everyone's Quick to Blame the Alien': Migrant Blame Games, Erica ConsterdinePart 6. BLAME AND INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS17. Blame Avoidance in Polarized Societies: Challenges and Research Agenda, Raanan Sulitzeanu-Kenan, Omer Yair18. Confront or Concede? Blame Games as a Test of Cultural Bias in Different Political Systems, Minou de Ruiter, Sanneke Kuipers19. Varieties of European Blame Games: On Scapegoats, Renegades and Diffusion Games, Heinkelmann-Wild, Berthold Rittberger, Bernhard Zangl, Lisa KriegmairPart 7. BLAME AND THE COVID-CRISIS20. Attributions of Blame and Credit in Policy-Making: Evidence from UK Leadership Tweets During the Swings of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Leong Ching, Michael Howlett, Mehrdad Safaei21. Storytelling and Statecraft: Continuity and Change in Framing the UK Government's Management of Covid-19, Steven Kettell, Peter Kerr22. Blame Avoidance during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Presentational Strategies by Two Italian governments, Gianfranco Baldini, Andrea PritoniPart 8. BLAME AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS23. Escape Blame or Make Friends? China's Pandemic Dilemma, Ruairidh J Brown24. Post-Truth Blame Games in Public Diplomacy and Media, Aleksandra Raspopina25. Blaming, Naming and the Democratic Game: Understanding Shaming Statecraft, Laurence WhiteheadPart 9. BLAME AND DEMOCRACY26. Populist Blame Games, Mari-Liis Jakobson27. Rethinking the Politics of Blame Avoidance under Populism: Strategic Lying, Bullshit, Boosterism and Scapegoating, Leighton Andrews28. Blame, Public Consultations and the Impact of Gender, Anthony Kevins, Barbara Vis29. Reflections on Twenty Years of the Blame Game and Risk Game, Christopher Hood