Karen Scott

Ian Bache

This volume is the first collection in the field of wellbeing studies that places politics centre stage. Through a combination of intellectual inquiry, empirically-grounded research, and investigation across different settings, this book aims to provide fresh insights and develop new lenses through which to understand the rise and significance of the wellbeing agenda. Divided into three parts, it considers how to define wellbeing for public policy; the prospects for wellbeing as a force for political change; and the link between policy agendas and the everyday lives of people. The book explores the key political issues of power, democracy, and the legitimacy of wellbeing evidence in a range of settings – international, national and subnational/substate. The volume will appeal to wellbeing and politics scholars, as well as students and general readers with an interest in these new political agendas.

Theory, Policy and Practice

The Politics of Wellbeing

Louise Reardon

'I have never seen a book like this. The authors seem to me to be ahead of their time: they are the first to try to explain the gradual rise and rise of ideas about 'wellbeing' in modern society. At the time of writing, nobody knows where this intellectual current will end, but it will probably be several oceans away. The book should be read by economists, psychologists, political scientists, historians and policy-makers. It is a prescient and wickedly interesting read.'- Andrew Oswald, University of Warwick, UK

Understanding the Rise and Significance of a New Agenda

The Politics and Policy of Wellbeing

Stephen George

Charlotte Burns

Simon Bulmer

Owen Parker

Accessible and engaging, this is a complete guide to the past, present, and future of the European Union. An expert author team examine in detail the theory and history behind the EU, before moving on to explore the institutions and policies at work, giving readers a valuable insight to this complicated political body.

Politics in the European Union

Traces the relationship between Europeanization and multi-level governance. This study illustrates how the EU has affected the vertical and horizontal dimensions of domestic policymaking. It focuses especially on Britain, comparing its experiences to that of ten other member states.

Cohesion Policy in the European Union and Britain

Europeanization and Multilevel Governance

Matthew Flinders

The power and future role of nation states are a topic of increasing importance. The dispersion of authority both vertically to supranational and subnational institutions and horizontally to non-state actors has challenged the structure and capacity of national governments. Multi-level governance has emerged as an important concept for understanding the dynamic relationships between state and non-state actors within territorially overarching networks. Multi-level Governance explores definitions and applications of the concept by drawing on contributions from scholars with different concerns within the broad discipline of Political Studies. It contends that new analytical frameworks that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries and epistemological positions are essential for comprehending the changing nature of governance. In this context, this volume undertakes a critical assessment of both the potentialities and the limitations of multi-level governance.

Multi-level Governance

Government interest in wellbeing as an explicit goal of public policy has increased significantly in recent years, leading to new developments in measuring wellbeing and initiatives aimed specifically at enhancing wellbeing. This book provides the first theoretically informed account of the rise and significance of this agenda, drawing on the multiple streams approach, to consider whether wellbeing can be described as ‘an idea whose time has come’. It reflects on developments across the globe and provides a detailed comparative analysis of two political arenas: the UK and the EU.

Ian Bache

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