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Government‐Voluntary Sector Compacts: Governance, Governmentality, and Civil Society
Author(s) -
Morison John
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of law and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.263
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1467-6478
pISSN - 0263-323X
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6478.00148
Subject(s) - governmentality , voluntary sector , civil society , public administration , general partnership , corporate governance , operationalization , government (linguistics) , public sector , political science , sociology , economics , law , management , politics , philosophy , linguistics , epistemology
In 1998 government and the main representatives of the voluntary sector in each of the four countries in the United Kingdom published ‘compacts’ on relations between government and the voluntary sector. These were joint documents, carrying forward ideas expressed by the Labour Party when in opposition, and directed at developing a new relationship for partnership with those ‘not‐for‐profit organizations’ that are involved primarily in the areas of policy and service delivery.This article seeks to use an examination of the compacts, and the processes that produced them and that they have now set in train, to explore some of the wider issues about the changing role of government and its developing relationships with civil society. In particular, it argues that the new partnership builds upon a movement from welfarism to economism which is being developed further through the compact process. Drawing upon a governmentality approach, and illustrating the account with interview material obtained from some of those involved in compact issues from within both government and those umbrella groups which represent the voluntary sector, an argument is made that this overall process represents the beginning of a new reconfiguration of the state that is of considerable constitutional significance.