Policy Press

Democracy, power and governance

In these politically turbulent times, questions about democracy, power and society are frequently raised. How does power work in society? Can we ever achieve equal rights when the power dynamics in society are so skewed?

With the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions in focus, our publishing in this area addresses questions like these from multiple angles, from extensive research into democratic governance and the concept of political power, to the role of power between different nations in foreign policy negotiations.

Bristol University Press and Policy Press are signed up to the UN SDG Publishers Compact. In Democracy, power and governance, we aim to address the following goal:

SDG Publishers compact logoSDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

Showing 85-96 of 562 items.

Understanding Public Services

A Contemporary Introduction

Dive inside this textbook for an accessible guide to the discipline of public services; explore core public service topics and understand the fundamental elements of working in the public services.

Policy Press

Alternative Societies

For a Pluralist Socialism

Bringing together a wide range of approaches and new strands of economic and social thinking from across the US, Asia, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, this book critically assesses the alternatives to capitalism, learning lessons from them and shows the ways forward with a convincing argument of pluralist socialism.

Bristol Uni Press

Navigating the Local

Politics of Peacebuilding in Lebanese Municipalities

Covering three Lebanese municipalities with striking sectarian diversity, Saida, Bourj Hammoud and Tyre, this book investigates the ways in which local service delivery, local interactions and vertical relationships matter in building peace.

Bristol Uni Press

In the Beginning

Secretary-General Trygve Lie and the Establishment of the United Nations

This book reviews the formative years of the United Nations (UN) under its first Secretary-General Trygve Lie.

Bristol Uni Press

Welfare That Works for Women?

Mothers’ Experiences of the Conditionality within Universal Credit

This book analyses fresh empirical evidence which demonstrates the gendered impacts of the new conditionality regime within Universal Credit. Drawing on in-depth interviews with mothers, it offers a compelling narrative and policy recommendations to make the social citizenship framework in the UK more inclusive of women.

Policy Press

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

The Victim Journey

This book traces the journey of victims/survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking into and within the UK, from recruitment to representation to (re)integration. It offers crucial suggestions for better public awareness, policies and practices that will impact interventions in the UK and beyond.

Policy Press

Middle Powers in Asia Pacific Multilateralism

A Differential Framework

Drawing on insights from differentiation theory, this book examines the participation of middle powers in multilateralism. Taking Australia, Indonesia and South Korea as examples, it sets out a valuable new framework to explain and understand the behaviour of middle powers in multilateralism.

Bristol Uni Press

Understanding UK Military Capability

From Strategy to Decision

Who decides how to use the UK military budget and how can we be sure that the UK’s armed forces can meet the threats of tomorrow?

This book provides the answers to these questions. Concentrating on decisions taken below the political level, it uncovers the factors that underpin the translation of strategic direction into military capability.

Bristol Uni Press

Young People, Radical Democracy and Community Development

Focusing on youth activism for greater equality, liberty and mutual care - radical democracy - this timely collection explores the movement’s impacts on community organisations and workers. Essays from the Global North and Global South cover the Black Lives Matter movement, environmental activism and the struggles of refugees.

Policy Press

The Death of the Left

Why We Must Begin from the Beginning Again

Winlow and Hall argue that the only way to resurrect leftist politics is to begin from the beginning again. They identify the root causes of its maladies, describe how new cultural obsessions displaced core unifying principles, and outline how a new reincarnation of the left can win in the 21st century.

Policy Press

States and Welfare States

Government for the People

Most governments in the world have taken responsibility for social policy and elected to develop services in health, education and social security. This book explores the role of government and the state in the contemporary world and discusses views about government responsibility for social welfare services.

Policy Press

How Do You Know If You Are Making a Difference?

A Practical Handbook for Public Service Organisations

This book sets out practical and theoretically robust approaches for understanding and tracking change that any organisation can use to evaluate their contribution to social change and become more efficient and effective.

Policy Press


Related journals

Policy and politics coverEuropean journal of politics and gender coverGlobal discourse coverJournal of public finance and public choice cover

Policy & Politics

Can the governance paradigm survive the rise of populism?
Gerry Stoker

Citizen participation and changing governance: cases of devolution in England
Brenton Prosser

The Use and Abuse of Participatory Governance by Populist Governments [Free]
Agnes Batory and Sara Svensson

Beyond radicalism and resignation: the competing logics for public participation in policy decisions
Rikki John Dean

Elite capture of local participatory governance
Wahed Waheduzzaman, Sharif As-Saber and Mohotaj Binte Hamid

The Effects of Economic Crises on Participatory Democracy
Pau Alarcón et al

European Journal of Politics and Gender

Special issue: Contemporary Crises in European Politics: Gender Equality+ Under Threat

Themed Section on: Women, Media and Politics

Special issue: Politics and gender: rocking political science and creating new horizons featuring:
Taking implementation seriously in assessing success: the politics of gender equality policy
Power, knowledge and the politics of gender in the Global South [Open Access]
Feminist international relations: some research agendas for a world in transition

Global Discourse

Themed issue on: The Politics of Negative Emotions

Themed issue on: Cultivating New Post-secular Political Space

Themed issue on: The Limits of EUrope: Identities, Spaces, Values

Themed issue on: Reflections on post-Marxism: Laclau and Mouffe's project of radical democracy in the 21st century

Themed issue on: Militancy and the working class: The case of Northern Ireland

Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice

Imperfect democracy and economic freedom
Ryan H. Murphy

Do Democratic governors lower economic freedom? A regression discontinuity approach
William B Hankins and Gary A. Hoover

The European Union building from Public Choice to Ordo, Röpke’s and Einaudi’s ideas of Europe [Free]
Francesco Forte

The Political Red Queen
Giampaolo Garzarelli and Emma Galli

The political economy of state building
Ilia Murtazashvili and Jennifer Murtazashvili