Hardback
The Politics of the Public Encounter
What Happens When Citizens Meet the State
9781800889323 Edward Elgar Publishing
On the ground floor of government, citizens interact with teachers, medical staff, police officers and other professionals in public service. It is during these encounters that laws, public policies and professional guidelines gain further substance and form. In this insightful book, Peter Hupe brings together expert contributions from scholars across the globe to study the social mechanisms behind these public encounters.
This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.
This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
On the ground floor of government, citizens interact with teachers, medical staff, police officers and other professionals in public service. It is during these encounters that laws, public policies and professional guidelines gain further substance and form. In this insightful book, Peter Hupe brings together expert contributions from scholars across the globe to study the social mechanisms behind these public encounters.
Integrating empirical case studies with cutting-edge theory, The Politics of the Public Encounter investigates what happens when citizens meet the state. Adopting a realist perspective, contributors examine the dichotomy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens at the street level of government. Chapters explore topics such as rule application and individual agency, the relationship between discretion and accountability, the consequences of digitalization and citizens’ impression management. Hupe concludes with a reflective essay and gives an account of what has been left aside, advancing a clear agenda for future research into the relationship between citizen and state.
Advanced students and scholars of law, political science, public administration, sociology and philosophy interested in the mechanisms behind the citizen/state encounter will benefit from the book’s multi-disciplinary approach. Its realist insights will also be an essential reference point for public service professionals.
Integrating empirical case studies with cutting-edge theory, The Politics of the Public Encounter investigates what happens when citizens meet the state. Adopting a realist perspective, contributors examine the dichotomy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens at the street level of government. Chapters explore topics such as rule application and individual agency, the relationship between discretion and accountability, the consequences of digitalization and citizens’ impression management. Hupe concludes with a reflective essay and gives an account of what has been left aside, advancing a clear agenda for future research into the relationship between citizen and state.
Advanced students and scholars of law, political science, public administration, sociology and philosophy interested in the mechanisms behind the citizen/state encounter will benefit from the book’s multi-disciplinary approach. Its realist insights will also be an essential reference point for public service professionals.
Critical Acclaim
‘The “politics” in the title of this collection of essays understates its breadth. It is not just about the struggle for power when state and citizen meet, but highlights factors such as uncertainty absorption, impression management, risk work, co-creation and digitalization. Thereby scholarship on the topic gets a good boost ahead.’
– Charles Goodsell, Virginia Tech, US
‘What happens when citizens meet the state? This excellent book provides a breadth of theoretically and empirically informed approaches to that question from leading scholars in the field. Drawing on insights from different kinds of frontline encounters, it is a reminder of why the street-level continues to be at the centre of public policy scholarship.’
– Catherine Needham, University of Birmingham, UK
''In this thoughtful and wide-ranging book, Hupe and his colleagues take a fresh look at a fundamentally important puzzle: What happens when citizens meet government? They paint a rich portrait of politics and policy from the bottom up, not only about government’s political responsiveness but also its accountability to those who pay taxes and vote. The book is full of insights about public administration as well as the broader framework of the most important challenges facing government today.''
– Donald F. Kettl, Emeritus Professor, University of Maryland, US
‘This book is a unique synthesis of up-to-date contributions on the “public encounter” as a dynamic phenomenon, communication process and multi-dimensional object of scholarly inquiry. It provides empirically informed analyses and reflective essays about the citizen/state interaction from different disciplinary angles. The book is a must-read for all those interested in understanding “what happens when citizens meet the state.’
– Sabine Kuhlmann, University of Potsdam, Germany
‘The Politics of the Public Encounter unpacks an evolving and increasingly complex, sometimes confronting, interaction between citizens and their governments. This book helps to understand how changing communication processes, transforming street-level governance, and politically disconnected, even un-civic and sometimes polarizing citizens are affecting crucial citizen/state encounters.’
– Geert Bouckaert, KU Leuven Public Governance Institute, Belgium
– Charles Goodsell, Virginia Tech, US
‘What happens when citizens meet the state? This excellent book provides a breadth of theoretically and empirically informed approaches to that question from leading scholars in the field. Drawing on insights from different kinds of frontline encounters, it is a reminder of why the street-level continues to be at the centre of public policy scholarship.’
– Catherine Needham, University of Birmingham, UK
''In this thoughtful and wide-ranging book, Hupe and his colleagues take a fresh look at a fundamentally important puzzle: What happens when citizens meet government? They paint a rich portrait of politics and policy from the bottom up, not only about government’s political responsiveness but also its accountability to those who pay taxes and vote. The book is full of insights about public administration as well as the broader framework of the most important challenges facing government today.''
– Donald F. Kettl, Emeritus Professor, University of Maryland, US
‘This book is a unique synthesis of up-to-date contributions on the “public encounter” as a dynamic phenomenon, communication process and multi-dimensional object of scholarly inquiry. It provides empirically informed analyses and reflective essays about the citizen/state interaction from different disciplinary angles. The book is a must-read for all those interested in understanding “what happens when citizens meet the state.’
– Sabine Kuhlmann, University of Potsdam, Germany
‘The Politics of the Public Encounter unpacks an evolving and increasingly complex, sometimes confronting, interaction between citizens and their governments. This book helps to understand how changing communication processes, transforming street-level governance, and politically disconnected, even un-civic and sometimes polarizing citizens are affecting crucial citizen/state encounters.’
– Geert Bouckaert, KU Leuven Public Governance Institute, Belgium
Contributors
Contributors: Maaike Breedveld, Nicola Gale, Keith Hawkins, Peter Hupe, Federica Infantino, Marlot Kuiper, Eline Linthorst, Tone Liodden, Kim Loyens, Peter Mascini, Matthew McKenna, Mirko Noordegraaf, Lieke Oldenhof, B. Guy Peters, Nadine Raaphorst, Carina Schott, Trui Steen, Carola van Eijk, Gijs van Oenen, Karin van Wingerde, Kirstine Zinck Pedersen
Contents
Contents:
Preface xv
Acknowledgements xvi
INTRODUCTION
1 The public encounter as object of scholarly inquiry 2
Peter Hupe
2 The politics of the public encounter 19
Peter Hupe
PART I WHAT HAPPENS WHERE STATE AND CITIZEN MEET
3 The politics of street-level bureaucracy 40
B. Guy Peters
4 The public encounter and the role of citizens 57
Carola van Eijk and Trui Steen
5 Discretion and accountability: Notes on perspective and
avoidance 78
Keith Hawkins
PART II THE DYNAMICS OF PUBLIC ENCOUNTERS
6 Nobody’s agent: Discretion as individualistic accountability 107
Nadine Raaphorst, Peter Hupe and Maaike Breedveld
7 Behind public encounters: Uncertainty absorption in
asylum decisions 126
Tone Liodden
8 Professional routines in and around public encounters 149
Mirko Noordegraaf and Marlot Kuiper
9 Tensions within the public encounter: Balancing individual
and population health risks 170
Matthew McKenna and Nicola Gale
10 Public encounters and the role of citizens’ impression
management 189
Lieke Oldenhof and Eline Linthorst
PART III PUBLIC ENCOUNTERS IN CONTEXT
11 Going viral: Public encounters and digitalization 211
Peter Hupe
12 The public encounter as object of delegation 235
Federica Infantino
13 Reform and the inspection encounter: How micro-practices
compromise meso-policies 251
Peter Mascini and Karin van Wingerde
14 Inspection encounters during a crisis: Suppositions from
the Covid-19 pandemic 270
Kim Loyens and Carina Schott
15 Public encounters and public achievements 289
Peter Hupe
PART IV ETHICS AND THE PUBLIC ENCOUNTER
16 Modern citizenship as civil disobedience 3.0 316
Gijs van Oenen
17 The public encounter and the ethics of public office 333
Kirstine Zinck Pedersen
CONCLUSION
18 The state of the citizen 354
Peter Hupe
Author index 365
Subject index 370
Preface xv
Acknowledgements xvi
INTRODUCTION
1 The public encounter as object of scholarly inquiry 2
Peter Hupe
2 The politics of the public encounter 19
Peter Hupe
PART I WHAT HAPPENS WHERE STATE AND CITIZEN MEET
3 The politics of street-level bureaucracy 40
B. Guy Peters
4 The public encounter and the role of citizens 57
Carola van Eijk and Trui Steen
5 Discretion and accountability: Notes on perspective and
avoidance 78
Keith Hawkins
PART II THE DYNAMICS OF PUBLIC ENCOUNTERS
6 Nobody’s agent: Discretion as individualistic accountability 107
Nadine Raaphorst, Peter Hupe and Maaike Breedveld
7 Behind public encounters: Uncertainty absorption in
asylum decisions 126
Tone Liodden
8 Professional routines in and around public encounters 149
Mirko Noordegraaf and Marlot Kuiper
9 Tensions within the public encounter: Balancing individual
and population health risks 170
Matthew McKenna and Nicola Gale
10 Public encounters and the role of citizens’ impression
management 189
Lieke Oldenhof and Eline Linthorst
PART III PUBLIC ENCOUNTERS IN CONTEXT
11 Going viral: Public encounters and digitalization 211
Peter Hupe
12 The public encounter as object of delegation 235
Federica Infantino
13 Reform and the inspection encounter: How micro-practices
compromise meso-policies 251
Peter Mascini and Karin van Wingerde
14 Inspection encounters during a crisis: Suppositions from
the Covid-19 pandemic 270
Kim Loyens and Carina Schott
15 Public encounters and public achievements 289
Peter Hupe
PART IV ETHICS AND THE PUBLIC ENCOUNTER
16 Modern citizenship as civil disobedience 3.0 316
Gijs van Oenen
17 The public encounter and the ethics of public office 333
Kirstine Zinck Pedersen
CONCLUSION
18 The state of the citizen 354
Peter Hupe
Author index 365
Subject index 370
