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" The interface of (social) science with government and politics : "
Watson, Patrick Gordon
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Latin Dissertation
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1097542
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TLets514429
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Watson, Patrick Gordon
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| Title & Author
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The interface of (social) science with government and politics :\ Watson, Patrick Gordon
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| College
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The University of Manchester
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| Date
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2009
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2009
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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This dissertation explores the possibility of conducting an ethnography of politicalaction through the detailed examination of politician's use of a specific politicalphenomenon: performance measurements. Performance Measurements are acombination of actuarial, managerial and social science assessments of which culminate,in the UK case, as a ranking of municipal performance, on each individual publicly(municipally) provided service as well as an overall ranking of local authorities inEngland. Using performance measurements as a departure point from which to explorethe structures of politics more generally, I will illustrate how ethnomethodologicallyinformed ethnography responds to Foucault's proposed examination of the arts andsciences of government in light of recent developments in politics and public policy inthe Western world.Over the last thirty-or-so years, governments in the Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development (OECD) have been, nearly unanimously, incorporatingwhat are considered business management techniques for monitoring and assessingpublic service provision. This ranges from various levels of government(central/federal, provincial/state/regional, municipal) and reforms have beenimplemented in a variety of ways. As a general description, it can be said that theadvent of cost-benefit accounting combined with business management expectations andassorted social science techniques have furnished the assessment regimes with varyingdegrees of acceptance and success.At the same time, political scientists, management theorists, and social scientists,aware of this paradigm shift in the practice of governance, have been examiningmethods for approaching the phenomenon of the governmental actor. In a handful ofcases (c.f. Gains, 2009; Yannow, 2006; Rhodes, 2005; Abram and Cowell, 2004)ethnographic approaches to the phenomenon of political action have been proposed,explored developed and implemented. However there is a great deal of deliberation onwhat might properly be said, ethnographically, about government activity, and the newfield of ethnography of government or governance is struggling to come to terms with amode a purpose.I will propose an ethnomethodologically informed ethnography of governmentcan provide insights to what Foucault (1991) described as governmentality: the rationaland practical features of government action. While Foucault proposed a historicallyinformed examination of the discourses of government, I will suggest that anobservationally informed inquiry garners knowledge on "rational action", as well asorganisational rule usage, decision making practices and accountability structures orpractices in a way that other forms of inquiry cannot achieve. In a time of flux in thestructures and practices of governance, I will suggest that ethnomethodologicallyinformed ethnography is one approach with rich insights towards the inquiry of thesenew governmental arrangements.
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The University of Manchester
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