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Unequal Plurality: Towards an Asymmetric Power Model of British Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2014

David Marsh ,
David Richards  and
Martin Smith
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Abstract

Until recently, Rhodes's ‘Differentiate Polity Model’ (DPM) has been the most analytically-developed model of the British political system, but it is not without its problems. Here, we argue that the DPM over-stresses the diffuse nature of power in Britain and the extent to which the state has been hollowed out. Instead, we contend that the British political system is more closed and elitist than the DPM acknowledges; rather than being hollowed-out, the state has been reconstituted and the core executive still remains the most powerful actor in the policy process. These themes are reflected in our own ‘Asymmetric Power model’.

Type
Articles
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , 2003 , pp. 306 - 332
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2003.

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References

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