IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/pubmgr/v13y2011i5p641-658.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Talking About Government

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher Pollitt
  • Peter Hupe

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of ‘magic’ concepts -- those key terms which seem to be pervasive among both academics and practitioners. Within that category our focus is on ‘governance’, ‘accountability’ and ‘networks’. Our prime purpose is to map their meanings and how they are used. Following an analysis of a wide range of literature -- both academic and practitioner -- we find that these concepts have properties in common which help promote their popularity. A high degree of abstraction, a strongly positive normative charge, a seeming ability to dissolve previous dilemmas and binary oppositions and a mobility across domains, give them their ‘magic’ character. Limitations are also identified. Magic concepts are useful, but potentially seductive. They should not be stretched to purposes for which they are not fitted.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Pollitt & Peter Hupe, 2011. "Talking About Government," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(5), pages 641-658, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:pubmgr:v:13:y:2011:i:5:p:641-658
    DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2010.532963
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/14719037.2010.532963
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/14719037.2010.532963?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mariapia Pazienza & Martin de Jong & Dirk Schoenmaker, 2022. "Clarifying the Concept of Corporate Sustainability and Providing Convergence for Its Definition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Ani MATEI & Carmen SĂVULESCU & Corina Georgiana ANTONOVICI, 2015. "Social Innovation in the Local Public Sector: A Cross-Regional Approach for Romania," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(4(605), W), pages 5-20, Winter.
    3. Claudio Columbano, 2022. "Measuring fiscal guidance transparency," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 46(2), pages 261-296.
    4. Rasool Sarihi Asfestani & Mehraban Hadi Peykani & Akbar Eetebaryan, 2017. "Design and Presentation of Professional Ethics Criteria and Indicators for the Promotion of Political Accountability within Iranian’s Government Organizations (Case Study: National Chief Executive Dev," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 7(2), pages 226-232.
    5. Michael McGann & Emma Blomkamp & Jenny M. Lewis, 2018. "The rise of public sector innovation labs: experiments in design thinking for policy," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 51(3), pages 249-267, September.
    6. De Silva, Muthu & Gokhberg, Leonid & Meissner, Dirk & Russo, Margherita, 2021. "Addressing societal challenges through the simultaneous generation of social and business values: A conceptual framework for science-based co-creation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    7. Annick Willem & Steffie Lucidarme, 2014. "Pitfalls and Challenges for Trust and Effectiveness in Collaborative Networks," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(5), pages 733-760, June.
    8. Tirziu, Andreea-Maria, 2016. "Inovarea socială – o viziune benefică asupra sectorului public. Studiu de caz: inovarea socială în universităڏile publice din Italia [Social innovation – a beneficial vision on the public sector. C," MPRA Paper 77705, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2016.
    9. Graeme A. Hodge, 2013. "Rethinking the state through the lens of regulatory governance," Chapters, in: John Farrar & David G. Mayes (ed.), Globalisation, the Global Financial Crisis and the State, chapter 9, pages 197-217, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Hanson, Helena I. & Wickenberg, Björn & Alkan Olsson, Johanna, 2020. "Working on the boundaries—How do science use and interpret the nature-based solution concept?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    11. Shuwang Zhang & Ghulam Rasool Madni & Iftikhar Yasin, 2022. "Exploring the Mutual Nexus of Social Capital, Social Innovations and Organizational Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Krijgsheld, Marcel & Schmidt, Eduard (J.E.T.) & Levels, Edwin & Schuurmans, Marieke (M.J.), 2024. "Healthcare professionals as change agents: Factors influencing bottom-up, personal initiatives on appropriate care, a qualitative study in the Netherlands," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    13. Cristina Campanale & Sara Giovanna Mauro & Alessandro Sancino, 2021. "Managing co-production and enhancing good governance principles: insights from two case studies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(1), pages 275-306, March.
    14. Di Vaio, Assunta & Trujillo, Lourdes & D'Amore, Gabriella & Palladino, Rosa, 2021. "Water governance models for meeting sustainable development Goals:A structured literature review," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    15. Jonathan Rösler & Tobias Söll & Louise Hancock & Thomas Friedli, 2021. "Value Co-Creation between Public Service Organizations and the Private Sector: An Organizational Capabilities Perspective," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, May.
    16. Helena Wockelberg & Shirin Ahlbäck Öberg, 2022. "Agency Autonomy and Organizational Interaction," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1045-1062, December.
    17. Abu Elias Sarker & Syed Awais Ahmad Tipu & Farhana Razzaque, 2022. "An Integrative Dynamic Framework of Social Accountability: Determinants, Initiatives, and Outcomes," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 117-133, March.
    18. repec:agr:journl:v:4(605):y:2015:i:4(605):p:5-20 is not listed on IDEAS

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:pubmgr:v:13:y:2011:i:5:p:641-658. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RPXM20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.