DSPO 25A60 - Public Policy Failure and the British State : A History in Twelve Case Studies

British living standards have stagnated for almost fifteen years, and on present trends will be the same as Poland’s by 2030. What has gone ‘wrong’ with the quality of Government in Britain? What errors and mistakes have its governments made? What lessons can be learned for other nations? Is relative British decline reversible? This interdisciplinary course will draw on intellectual traditions in history, political science, economic history and economics to explore how the Academy explains the perpetual British crisis, drawing on the course leader’s research in modern British history and politics at the University of Oxford ad the subject of their PhD. Its method will be case study-based, beginning with the First World War (the conceptual, introductory topic) and passing through other ‘failures’ of the British State since 1914 including Appeasement; the Suez Crisis; Concorde, the Community Charge (the ‘Poll Tax‘); Rail Privatisation; the Iraq War; and the Great Financial Crisis of 2007/8. An overview of ‘public policy failure’ literature is integral to the course and two introductory texts are listed below for pre-reading.

Some knowledge of 20th Century British History and Politics would be desirable, as would some understanding of basic concepts in western political theory and western political science. A high level of fluency in academic English is essential. The course can be taken jointly with my other Undergraduate course ‘Public Policy Failure and the British State : A History in Twelve Case Studies’.

20% - Summative Essay 1,500-1,750 words long from a topic of the candidate’s choice

20% - Presentation to class

50% - End of Term Exam

10% - Class Verbal Participation Score