Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

What Is Decentred Analysis?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Narrative Policy Analysis

Part of the book series: Understanding Governance ((TRG))

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief history of narrative policy analysis in political science, especially in the study of public administration and public policy. It outlines the specific interpretive approach developed by Mark Bevir and R. A. W. Rhodes. It explains what we mean by ‘decentring’ and unpacks the ethnographic toolkit we employ. It provides brief, descriptive summaries of the individual chapters and explains how each relates to the overall themes of the book. Finally, it discusses the pros and cons of a decentred approach. It concludes that the decentred analysis is edifying because it offers a novel alliance of interpretive theory with an ethnographic toolkit to explore policymaking and policy analysis from the bottom-up. It contributes to both the analysis of the policy process and analysis for the policy process.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (1987). Membership Roles in Field Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Agar, M., & MacDonald, J. (1995). Focus Groups and Ethnography. Human Organization, 54, 78–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auyero, J., & Joseph, L. (2007). Introduction: Politics Under the Ethnographic Microscope. In L. Joseph, M. Mahler, & J. Auyero (Eds.), New Perspectives on Political Ethnography (pp. 1–13). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bevir, M. (2011). Public Administration as Storytelling. Public Administration, 89, 183–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bevir, M., & Kedar, A. (2008). Concept Formation in Political Science: An Anti-naturalist Critique of Qualitative Methodology. Perspectives on Politics, 6, 503–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bevir, M., & Rhodes, R. A. W. (2003). Interpreting British Governance. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bevir, M., & Rhodes, R. A. W. (2006). Governance Stories. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bevir, M., & Rhodes, R. A. W. (2010). The State as Cultural Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bevir, M., & Rhodes, R. A. W. (Eds.). (2015a). The Routledge Handbook of Interpretive Political Science. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bevir, M., & Rhodes, R. A. W. (2015b). Interpretive Political Science: Mapping the Field. In M. Bevir & R. A. W. Rhodes (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Interpretive Political Science (pp. 3–27). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bobrow, D. B., & Dryzek, J. S. (1987). Policy Analysis by Design. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boswell, J., Corbett, J., Flinders, M., Jennings, W., Rhodes, R. A. W., & Wood, M. (2018). What Can Political Ethnography Tell Us About Anti-politics and Democratic Disaffection? European Journal of Political Research (forthcoming).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cartwright, N., & Hardie, J. (2012). Evidence-Based Policy Making: A Practical Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clifford, J., & Marcus, G. E. (Eds.). (1986). Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, J. (2015). Being Political. Leadership and Democracy in the Pacific Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Crewe, E. (2015). The House of Commons: An Anthropology of MPs at Work. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Czarniawska, B. (2004). Narratives in Social Science Research. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Delamont, S. (2007). Ethnography and Participant Observation. In C. Seale, G. Giampietri, J. F. Gubrium, & D. S. Silverman (Eds.), Qualitative Research Practice (pp. 205–227). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denning, S. (2005). The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011 [1994]). Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (4th ed., pp. 1–19). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dietz, K., & Silverman, L. (2014). Business Storytelling for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dror, Y. (1968). Public Policymaking Re-examined. San Francisco: Chandler Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dryzek, J. S. (1993). Policy Analysis and Planning: From Science to Argument. In F. Fischer & J. Forester (Eds.), The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, F. (2003). Reframing Policy Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, F., & Forester, J. (Eds.). (1993). The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, F., Miller, G. J., & Sidney, M. S. (2006). Handbook of Public Policy Analysis: Theory, Politics, and Methods. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriel, Y. (2000). Storytelling in Organizations: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies. London: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Geddes, M., & Rhodes, R. A. W. (2018). Towards an Interpretive Parliamentary Studies. In J. Brichzin, D. Krichewsky, L. Ringel, & J. Schank (Eds.), The Sociology of Parliaments (pp. 87–107). Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geertz, C. (1973). Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture. In The Interpretation of Cultures (pp. 3–30). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geertz, C. (2001). Available Light. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hajer, M. A. (2009). Authoritative Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hajer, M. A., & Wagenaar, H. (Eds.). (2003). Deliberative Policy Analysis. Understanding Governance in a Networked Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, L., Service, O., Goldacre, B., & Torgerson, D. (2012). Test, Learn, Adapt. Developing Public Policy with Randomised Controlled Trials. London: Cabinet Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Healy, P. (1986). Interpretive Policy Inquiry: A Response to the Limitations of the Received View. Policy Sciences, 19, 381–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, M. (2013). The Public Policy Process (6th ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, D. R., & Marcus, G. E. (2005). Refunctioning Ethnography: The Challenge of an Anthropology of the Contemporary. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed., pp. 1087–1101). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hummel, R. P. (1991). Stories Managers Tell: Why They Are as Valid as Science. Public Administration Review, 51, 31–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, B. (1987). Interpretation and the Practice of Policy Analysis. In F. Fischer & J. Forester (Eds.), Confronting Values in Policy Analysis (pp. 128–152). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, M. D., & McBeth, M. K. (2010). A Narrative Policy Framework: Clear Enough to Be Wrong? Policy Studies Journal, 38, 329–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, M. D., Shanahan, E. A., & McBeth, M. K. (Eds.). (2014). The Science of Stories: Applications of the Narrative Policy Framework in Public Policy Analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kapiszewski, D., MacLean, L. M., & Read, B. L. (2015). Field Research in Political Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kedia, S., & Van, W. J. (2005). Applied Anthropology: Context for Domains of Application. In S. Kedia & W. J. Van (Eds.), Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application (pp. 1–32). Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasswell, H. D. (1971). A Preview of Policy Sciences. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcus, G. E. (1995). Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography. Annual Review in Anthropology, 24, 95–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus, G. E. (2007). Ethnography Two Decades After Writing Culture: From the Experimental to the Baroque. Anthropological Quarterly, 80, 1127–1145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nader, L. (1972). Up the Anthropologist—Perspectives Gained from Studying Up. In D. H. Hymes (Ed.), Reinventing Anthropology (pp. 284–311). New York: Pantheon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pink, S. (2013). Doing Visual Ethnography (3rd ed.). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeher, G. (2006). First Person Political. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, R. A. W. (2011). Everyday Life in British Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, R. A. W. (2017). Interpretive Political Science: Selected Essays (Vol. II). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, R. A. W., & Tiernan, A. (2014). Lessons in Governing: A Profile of Prime Ministers. Chiefs of Staff. Carlton, VIC: Melbourne University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, D., & Mathers, H. (2010). Political Memoirs New Labour: Interpretations of Power the “Club Rules”. British Journal of Politics International Relations, 12, 498–522.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roe, E. (1994). Narrative Policy Analysis: Theory and Practice. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rorty, R. (1980). Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schatz, E. (2009). Introduction. In E. Schatz (Ed.), Political Ethnography: The Difference Immersion Makes (pp. 1–22). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schultze, C. L. (1968). The Politics and Economics of Public Spending. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shore, C., & Wright, S. (Eds.). (1997). The Anthropology of Policy: Critical Perspectives on Governance and Power. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, D. A. (2001). Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making (Rev. ed.). New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torfing, J., Peters, B. G., Pierre, J., & Sorensen, E. (2012). Interactive Governance: Advancing the Paradigm. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Turnbull, N. (Ed.). (2016). Interpreting Governance, High Politics and Public Policy: Essays Commemorating Interpreting British Governance. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Eeten, M. J. G., Van Twist, M. J. W., & Kalders, P. R. (1996). Van een narratieve bestuurskunde naar een postmoderne beweerkunde? (M. van Twist, English Trans.). Bestuurskunde, 5(4), 168–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Willigen, J. (2002). Applied Anthropology: An Introduction (3rd ed.). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagenaar, H. (2011). Meaning in Action: Interpretation and Dialogue in Policy Analysis. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wildavsky, A. (1980). The Art and Craft of Policy Analysis. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolcott, H. F. (1995). The Art of Fieldwork. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, E. J. (2007). Field Research. In C. Boix & S. C. Stokes (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics (pp. 123–146). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wulff, H. (2002). Yo-Yo Fieldwork: Mobility and Time in Multi-local Study of Dance in Ireland. Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, 11, 117–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yanow, D. (1999). Conducting Interpretive Policy Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I must thank John Boswell, Jack Corbett and Jenny Fleming for the helpful comments on the first draft. The chapter draws on my previous work with Mark Bevir (see Bevir and Rhodes 2003, 2006, 2010 and 2015b).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    R. A. W. Rhodes

Authors
  1. R. A. W. Rhodes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. A. W. Rhodes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom

    R.A.W Rhodes

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Rhodes, R.A.W. (2018). What Is Decentred Analysis?. In: Rhodes, R. (eds) Narrative Policy Analysis. Understanding Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76635-5_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation