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The Newsletter of the Political Studi

The UFC review persists in under-rating the research record of British political studies, although the discipline emerges with a strong overall assessment

STEP FORWARD The UFC Research Selectivity Exercise results, published on 24 August 1989, show a marked improvement in the standing of political studies in the UK. However, in view of the enormous investment in the review, it is surprising that the outcome did not reflect more accurately the outstanding international reputation of the discipline.

Academics in political studies can take some pleasure in the results and particularly in the improvements since 1986, when undoub- tedly the discipline was very badly treated by the UGC. Then only two departments received an 'outstanding' ranking whereas in this year's exercise six departments received the highest Grade 5 rating.

However, there are just four departments in the second Grade 4 category. Given the acknowledged international excellence of much British politics research, it is odd to find that significantly more departments

The PSA now has data with which to provide a diagnostic service to all departments seek- ing to maintain and improve their rankings. As a further step in its programme to prom- ote political studies the PSA is establishing an Annual Research Report which will in- clude publications by all departments.

Further details of the UFC Ratings appear on pages 11-16

Volume l, :Number 4

. .

l EDITOR: John Benyon

Editorial Assistants: Kate Cambridge, Y v o ~ e Jewkes and Georgina Roberts

Centre for the Study of Public Order, University of Leicester,

Professor Mike Goldsmith Assumes the PSA Chair

International reputation / Pressure of commitments has forced Professor Trevor Smith to stand The Exercise cost some E4 million and in- I down after five years of assiduous and energetic work on the PSA Executive. volved some 36,000 person-days, but it seems that even this enormous investment has not enabled the UFC to discover the considerable achievements in British politi- cal studies that are respected by so many colleagues overseas.

The UFC has said that a further selectivity exercise will take place, probably in 1993. The PSA will continue to campaign for a more realistic recognition of the quality of politics research.

Trevor Smith's period on the Executive, first as Vice-Chair (Universities) and then as Chair, were years during which the PSA developed considerably. Professor Smith contributed a great deal of energy, drive and ideas and assiduously promoted the study of politics.

He established and chaired the PSA Shadow Panel, which closely monitored the UFC Research Selectivity Exercise, and he took a leading role in the PSA's campaign for

Trevor Smith's presence on the Executive will be greatly missed, for he has been a source of wisdom, guidance and encourage- ment. The Executive unanimously recorded its appreciation and conferred a Vice-Presi- dency of the Association.

The new Chair of the PSA is Professor Michael Goldsmith, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Salford. Mike Goldsmith is well-known to PSA members through his research activities, and is a senior and much-

l I the defence i d promotion of the profession. I respected member of the profession. PSA NEWS ISSN 09554281

Australasian Political Studies Journal The editorial control and production of Politics: Journal of the Australasian Political Studies Association has been awarded to a team based in the Department of Politics, University College, University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia 2600.

The new Editor is Professor Ian McAllister; Managing Editor is Dr David Lovell; Review Editor is William Maley. Articles and books for review should be sent to the appropriate member of the editorial team at Canberra (Telephone: 062.68.8147; Facsimile: 062.68.8852).

IPSA begins discussions on ~ h , ~~.~i~h ~~~i~~ Formal Cooperation with BA and the Persian Gulf

-- - IA L 2 T S ISA William Welsh, Executive Director of the International Studies Association (ISA), and Francesco Kjellberg, Secretary General of rhe International Political Science Associa- tion (IPSA), have begun discussions on ways in which the two organisations can coordi- nate activities to their mutual benefit.

Kjellberg and Welsh met in connection with the 17th General Assembly of the Inter-

Mr Ali-Reza Moussavizadeh is undertaking research on the British Empire in the Persian Gulf in the postwar period, especially under the Churchill and Eden administrations. He has asked for PSA members' assistance in his work and particularly wants to trace material on Britain's role in, and impact upon, the Persian Gulf. Mr Moussavizadeh can be contacted at: PO Box 96, Swansea, SA1 1AP.

national Social Science Council (ISSC) in Barcelona in December 1988. ~ 0 t h IPSA I Goldsmith Goes Forth and ISA are among the 15 full organisational members of the ISSC.

The major proposal is the possibility of selected IPSA Research Committees and Study Groups holding formal sessions as part of ISA Convention Programmes. IPSA meets every three years while ISA convenes yearly. Several IPSA research and study groups have expressed interest in having more fre- quent opportunities to meet within the con- text of a broader set of academic sessions.

Substantive intellectual overlap

The motivations for the prospective ISA- IPSA cooperation come from both the sub- stantive intellectual overlap of interests of many members of the two organisations and also from practical organisation considera- tions. As the ISA-based network of As- sociated Organisations in International Studies continues to expand, a number of the members of the network are national political science associations, or component units of them.

IPSA members who have thoughts about these possible modes of co-operation with ISA, are invited to communicate them to the IPSA Secretariat at the Institute of Political Science, University of Oslo, Box 1097, Blin- dern, 0317 Oslo 3, Norway.

As some members of the PSA will be aware, Maurice Goldsmith has taken early retire- ment and will be living in New Zealand, following the appointment of his wife, Dr Elizabeth McLeay, to a post at Victoria University, Wellington.

Maurice came to Exeter in January 1969 as Professor of Political Theory, but, with the sudden death of Victor Wiseman in November of that year, rapidly found him- self head of department pending the appoint- ment of a successor to Victor. That successor was Tony Birch, who was Head of Depart- ment from 1970 to 1977. After Tony's depar- ture to Canada, Maurice again found himself Head of Department and subsequently Dean of the Faculty of Social Science. The political theory programme at Exeter was largely Maurice's creation and in this and many other respects a considerable debt is owed to him.

Maurice Goldsmith also played a leading role in the Political Studies Association, first as Chairman and then as President. Eie has worked tirelesslv for the advancement of political studies, and has continued to play a key part in the affairs of the Association. We wish him well in his new life and have no doubt that he will maintain his involve- ment in the PSA from the other side of the globe! The Chair of Politics at Exeter will be filled in 1990.

PSA NEWS

Two Grants in I Dissertation Prizes Canada Wyn Grant (University of W&k) and Grant Jordan (University of Aberdeen) attended a conference on 'Organisedhterests and Public Policy' at the University of Toronto in May 1989. Wyn Grant gave a paper on policy making in relation to Canada's forest and forest products industry while Grant Jordan helped participants to see the wood for the trees by acting as a discussant for two papers. Later in the week, at McMaster University in Hamilton, Grant Jordan gave a paper on commercial lobbying in Britain and Wyn Grant participated in the discussion.

PSA Membership Membership of the Association is open to any person holding an appointment in political studies or allied subjects in an institution of higher education, and is also open to anybody whose participation in the PSA is likely to further political studies. The current annual. fee is £25.

The PSA invites applications fmm political journalists and lobby corns- pondents, politicians, civil servants and others with a professional interest in the field of political studies.

A membership form is enclosed with this issue of PSA NEWS. Full details of membership are available from Ian Forbes, Executive Director, Political ' Studies Association, Department of Politics, University of Southampton, Southampton, S04 5NH (Telephone: 0703.592635; or a703.583669).

'Taking the Census" CCnrshank reveals the enumerator's problem in 1851

Heads of Department are reminded that doctoral dissertations for the 1989 competi- tion should be submitted by 39 June 1990. One copy of each dissertation should be sent to: Professor J. E. Spence, Department of Politics, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH. The winners of the 1988 competition will be announced shortly.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS Improving official statistics is one of the three specific aims of the Social Science Forum's programme for action. To move this part of the campaign forward, a meeting was held with representatives from a number of member associations at which it was decided that a statement of principle for the collection and use of official statistics should be produced.

A number of the objectives which will be pursued within the statement of principle will be concerned to stress that datasets and statistics collected with public funds should be in the public domain. Although the Social Science Forum does not want to get into the pasition of having a 'shopping list' of statis- tics it would like to see collected and availa- ble, it would like to compile a list of key public datasets that would be accessible to researchers for further analysis. Assistance from PSA members for datasets that should be on this list is requested.

The Forum would also like to have infor- mation about any major gaps in the statistics that are collected which might suggest new statistical series, or additions to current sur- veys.

Ideas and comments should be sent to: Dr Janet Lewis, Social Science Forum, Beverley House, Shipton R ~ z d ~ York, Y03 6RB.

WINTER 1989

THE NEW EUROPE The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) invites scholars of member institutions to a conference on 'The New Europe'. It will be held in the beautiful town of Rimini on the Adriatic coast in September 1990.

Three to five research groups, with four The ECPR particularly wishes to facilitate to six scholars from different countries, are contact between existing national centres as invited to meet for a few days to look into well as to encourage younger researchers. the possibilities of setting up a comparative The proposal to organise a research session research project on politics and conditions should consist of four to five typewritten in the new Europe that will emerge after pages outlining the topic, the most important 1992. Examples of topics which could be references in the field, a short description of covered are: research work done by the convenor and a

democratic citizenship list of possible participants. The ECPR will European bureaucracies pay in full for travel and accommodation. national sovereignty Proposals should be sent no later than 15 minority rights February 1990 to: Professor Leif Lewin, distribution of political power Chair ECPR Research Board, Department comparative European foreign politics of Government, Skyatteanum Box 514, law and courts in Europe 751.20 Uppsala, Sweden.

Research Register on Women and Politics The 1989 edition of the Research Regtster of the Standing Group on Women and Politics has just been published and is available from the convenor at £2 per copy. This year the Register records the interests and expertise of 42 political scientists from 18 countries. The Regzster is organised by country, name and institution and is indexed accordingly. Full postal addresses are given, as are tele- phone numbers where available. The inten- tion is to facilitate direct contact with indi- viduals about their work.

The Standing Group on Women and Poli- tics has been organised within the European

Consortium for Political Research since 1986. Members are academic political scien- tists, political sociologists or political theorists with a research interest in the polit- ical roles and preoccupations of European women. The Group meets annually and pub- lishes an occasional newsletter and maintains a data base on members' research interests. For further information contact: Dr Joni Lovenduski, Convenor, Standing Group on Women and Politics, European Re- search Centre, Loughborough University of Technology, Loughborough, Leicester- shire, LE11 3TU.

AND ELECTORAL SYSTEMS The Comparative Representation and Elec- toral Systems Research Committee of IPSA is an organisation of over 150 people from 23 different countries. This network includes scholars interested in national, cross-national and sub-national aspects of representation and electoral systems.

The Executive Committee includes Arend Lijphart (Universzty of Calafonia-San Diego), Lawrence Longley (Lawrence Uni- vetsity, USA) , Enid Lakeman (Electoral Re- form Soczety, U K ) and Richard Katz (John Hopkins Universzty, USA). Activities of the

Committee include conferences, a panel at IPSA Congress, an International Nezusletter, discounts for various books and journals such as Electoral Studies, and the publication of a Directory of current research and the International Bibliography on Electoral Sys- tems.

PSA members are invited to join the Research Committee at the cost of £10.00. Further details from: Enid Lakeman, Elec- toral Systems Research Committee, Electoral Reform Society, 6 Chancel Street, London, SE1 OUU.

COMPARATIVE JUDICIAL STUDIES

The IPSA Research Committee on Compara- tive Judicial Studies invites PSA members to participate in its work. Two meetings are planned for 1990 and the Research Commit- tee welcomes proposals from British scholars with an interest in the field.

(i) Western Canada Meeting in May1 June 1990 This meeting will be held in Western Canada during late Maylearly June 1990. Ted Morton, of the Research Unit for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Calgary, has agreed to serve as host for the meeting. The meeting will be held in con- junction with the Canadian Learned Societies Annual Meeting in Victoria, British Columbia.

The Canadian meeting is open to all kinds of proposals for panels, round tables and papers. However, the organisers especially wish to encourage proposals dealing with two themes: 'Courts and the Enforcement of Rights in Comparative Perspective';

'Government Responses to Judicial Policy "Mistakes": Legislative Overrides and Other Court Curbing Mechanisms'.

(ii) Special Conference on Comparative Judicial Politics in August 1990 Research Committee member Burt Atkins and Con- venor Neal Tate are interested in organising a special Research Committee conference on 'Comparative Judicial Politics'. The confer- ence would be a forum for the presentation of research which employs the theories, concepts, and methods of the social and behavioural or mathematical sciences to explore or analyse legal institutions, courts, or judges from at least an implicitly compara- tive perspective. The organisers welcome analyses of national or subnational units, especially analyses of the latter which explore theoretical or analytical approaches relevant to cross-national judicial politics.

The conference is scheduled to be held in London at the Study Centre of Florida State Univesity (FSU), during the second or third week of August 1990. The FSU London Study Centre is located in Kensington.

PSA members who are interested in par- ticipating in these meetings are asked to contact: Professor C Neal Tate, Convenor, Research Committee on Comparative Jud- icial Studies, Department of Political Sci- ence, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203-5338, USA.

PSA NEWS

1990 Conference Details The 1990 PSA Annual Conference will be held at Hatfield College, University of Durham from 10 - 12 April.

In addition to the various panels and specialist groups, there will be one plenary session at which the speaker will be David Jenkins, the Bishop of Durham. Bishop Jenkins will speak on the theme of 'What Can We Expect of the Polis and Politics in the Twenty-first Century?'. He has the reputation of being an excellent speaker, and PSA

members will find the occasion both interesting and provocative.

Hatfield College is one of the oldest and most impressive of the Durham Colleges, located just a few hundred yards from the magnificent Norman Cathedral and Castle. Almost all the Conference activities will take place in the centre of the City, within easy walking distance of the River Wear, shops and several pleasant pubs.

As it is 1990, and the opening of the decade raises new agendas and issues in politics, panels are being asked to consider organising their sessions around the theme of 'New Develop- ments in Politics'. The theme is in- tended to cover not only new develop- ments in the practice of politics - for example, the startling developments in East Europe, the emergence of a new Europeanism in the wake of 1992, or the politics of the health service reform - but also new developments in the study of politics. For example, one panel has already been organised on the theme of 'modernity and inter- national relations theory'.

Wide variety of panels and papers

Plenary session addressed by the Bishop of Durham

Delightful historic setting

Special PSA 40th Anniversary Dinner

Full details of the Conference will be announced in the February 1990 issue of PSA NEWS, although bookings are now being accepted and a booking form accompanies this issue of PSA NEWS.

Bookings should be sent to the local Organiser of the Conference: R. W. Dyson, Department of Politics, University of Durham, Durham, DHl3LZ (Telephone 091.374.2000).

WINTER 1989

Convenors of all Specialist Groups should send details to David Denver, Department of Politics and International Studies, Universi~ of Lancaster, Lancaster, LA1 4YF (Telephone 0524.65201 Ext. 383). Dr Denver needs the following infornation: name of group; objectives; name of convenor; names of other P S A members involved (as appropriate); contact names; activities; any other points of i n f m t i o n . Suggestions f m new Specialist Groups are welcome. PSA N E W S will carry regular reports of Specialist groups and their activities, and convenors are asked to send relevant details to the Editor.

PSA NEWS I

Politics and Society in Mediterranean Europe A meeting of Politics and Society in Mediter- ranean Europe (POSME) was held at the PSA conference in April 19S9. The group decided upon the following activities:

POSME will be holding a panel at the 1990 PSA Conference at Durham. The theme of the panel is: 'Electoral Change and Socialist Party Responses in Southern Europe'. The panel convenor is Dr Kevin Featherstone, who can be contacted at the School of European Studies, Uni- versity of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP. The group has just issued a Register of Research on Mediterranean Europe, edited by Dr Ken Gladdish. This lists the topics, names and addresses of those in the UK researching on Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal. Those interested should contact Ken Gladdish at the ad- dress below. It has been proposed that POSME, in cooperation with The Centre for Mediter- ranean Studies at Bristol, could produce a news letter, which should give details of the activities of POSME and other associations or institutes in the field of Mediterranean and European Studies as well as include reports on research pro- jects and other relevant developments.

Further details about the Group's ac- tivities can be obtained from: Geoffrey Pridham, Centre for Mediterranean Studies, University of Bristol, l 2 Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 lTU; or Ken Gladdish, Department of Politics, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 218, Reading, RG6 2AA.

Liberal Political Theory The Group intends to convene a panel at the 1990 Durham Conference and is seeking suitable papers. Any members who have a paper for inclusion in the panel are asked to contact Andrew Reeve or John Cunliffe as soon as possible via: Dr Andrew Reeve, Department of Politics, University of War- wick, Coventry, CV4 7AL (Telephone 0203.523109).

Health Care Politics This is new specialist group which Michael MOran is seeking set up' He intends arrange an meeting On the first evening of the Conference at Durham - that is, On Tuesday l0 at a time and location be Members in- terested in joining the group should contact: Mick Moran, Department of Government, University M13 9PL (Telephone: 061.275.4889).

Elections, Public Opinion and Parties in Britain It is a Group On Opinion and Parties in Britain with a view to holding a

conference and workshop and publishing a newsletter. An inaugural meet- ing be at the 1990 Conference'

The organisers like receive the names and addresses of members wishing to be placed On the list. Further infor- mation can be obtained from: Ivor Crewe, Depaament of University of Essex, 3SQ, Essex; Or

Pippa DepaNnent Uni- versity of Edingburgh, 31 Buccleuch Edinburgh, EH8 9JT.

PSA women and Politics Group Joni Lovenduski (Loughborough University) is now Group Convenor, Annis Mae Timpson (University of Nottingham) is Trea- surer and Pippa Noms (University of Edin- burgh) is Secretary. The Group is holding a one-day conference on 24 February 1990, organised in conjunction with the BSA Gen- der Studies Group. The venue is the London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, and the theme is 'Rights, Politics and Reproductive Technol- ogy'. Offers of papers, and requests for details, should be made to Joni Lovenduski.

People interested contact: Joni Loven- duski, Department of European Studies, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU (Telephone: 0509.222981).

Marxism Specialist Group Conference The Group's seventh one-day conference took place at Goldsmiths College, University of London, on the 12th of September, 1989. Twenty people attended, discussion was lively, and the day was generally held to be a success.

The papers discussed were: Mike Levin (Goldsmiths College) ' M m , Engels and the Nationalities Question' Larry Wilde (Trent Polytechnic) 'Class analysis and the new politics' Grahaeme Land and Phi1 Semp (Teeside Polytechnic) 'Towards a Dialectic on State Expenditure' Filio Diamanti (University of Edinburgh) 'Thatcherism, and Re-Thinking Socialism in the 1980,s, Ian Thatcher (University of Glasgow) 'The

of c'pemanent revolution,3, Jim Shorthose (Trent Polytechnic) 'The Marxist theory of ideology and manage- ment science,.

Requests for papers should be sent direct to the

The Group's next one-day conference will be held on Tuesday 11th September 1990 at Glasgow University. The Group also plans to convene a panel at the 1990 PSA Annual Conference at Durham. Offers of papers for either of these meetings are invited; please contact: Mark Cowling, Department of Humanities, Teeside Polytechnic, Middles- brough, Cleveland, TSI 3BA (Telephone: 0642.218121 Ext. 4308).

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l~ubiicati rking Papers.. . Changing Politics of Women

Historically, men and women have differed greatly in their political rights. In voting, women have traditionally been viewed as more politically conservative than men. New research by two academics confirms this female conservatism and examines its causes across 11 Western nations.

The study, by David de Vaus ( L a Trobe University) and Ian McAllister Visiting Fel- low, University of Strathclyde), is called The Changing Politics of Women: Gender and Political Alignment in 11 Nations. In 10 of the nations surveyed, women were more con- servative than men. The greatest differences were found in Spain, France and Italy, while the smallest differences were in West Ger- many, Denmark and Britain. The sole excep- tion to the pattern is Australia, where men were actually found to be more conservative than women.

The authors identify the causes of these differences as the lower proportions of women who work and to stronger religious commitment among women. They suggest that the growing numbers of working women and increasing secularisation in many West- ern democracies will ultimately reduce female conservatism. The question to be ad- dressed may then be the greater conservatism of men.

The Changing Politics of Women is availa- ble, price £2.50, from: Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Livingstone Tower, 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow, G1 IXH.

Strathclyde Papers in Government and Politics

The following papers in the Strathclyde series have recently been published: 59 Geoff Dudley, Privatisatiotl 'Wrh the

Grain': Distinguishing Features of the Sale of the National Bus Compar~y

60 A. Heath, R. Jowell, J . Curtice and G. Evans, The Extension of Popular Capitalism

61 M. Keating, R. Levy, J . Geekie and J. Brand, Labour Elites in Glasgow

62 M . Franklin and T. Mackie, Electoral Change in Western Countries: Consequences of Post-Industrial Social Change

63 Wolfgang Rudig, Towards a 'Nm, ' Polit- ical Science of Technology

The papers cost £4.00 (£3.00 for students; £5.00 for overseas). Orders should be sent to: Strathclyde Papers, Politics Depart- ment, University of Strathclyde, McCance Building, 16 Richmond Street, Glasgow,

Conservatives and Education

A new book by Christopher Knight (Bex- leyheath School) promises to make interest- ing reading. The Making of Tory Education Policy in Postwar Britain attempts to identify and explain the growing importance of 'edu- cation' to the Conservative Party, and the role played by Conservative educationalists. It offers a novel analysis of the Conservatives' educational 'counter-revolution'. Dr Knight's book is published in January 1990.

Alliance Collapse Benefits Labour and Conservatives The collapse of the Alliance parties can help the Conservatives hold Tory seats in Parliament, even though it simultaneousley increases the Labour vote, conclude Professors Richard Rose and Ian McAllister (University of Strathclyde) in their recent study Tactical Versus Expressive Voting in Britain: Testing Schumpeter's Theory.

The study finds that where the Alliance finished third in 1983 its vote was down 4.5% in 1987 - four times more than the slump in the Alliance vote where it was the chief challenger to the Conservatives. Labour's vote went up 3.1%, but the Conservative vote also went up, because about two in five of the Alliance defectors shifted to the right, not the Left.

There is limited likelihood of a complete collapse in the vote for third parties, Rose and McAUister conclude, for most people vote expressively, not tactically. Voting is not about choosing a government, as many social scientists have argued, it is about giving expression to the lifetime loyalties of voters. These loyalties are formed in the family; by social and economic interests arising from housing, jobs and trade-union membership; and by durable political values.

In the current contest for control of British government, Labour cannot count on being carried into Downing Street on a tide of support from ex-Alliance sympathisers. To attract more votes Labour must become more identified with values that voters want to express.

Professor Richard Rose is Director of the Centre for the Study of Public Policv and Professor Ian McAllister is Visiting Fellow at the Centre. Copies of Tactical Versus Expressive Voting in Britain, price £3.50, are available from: Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Livingstone Tower, 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow G1 IXH.

Race in Britain A new book by John Solomas (Birkbech College) provides an accessible and com- prehensive introduction to the politics of race in post-war Britain. It combines a review of the main theoretical approaches with detailed coverage of policy and practice to show how and why controve~sies about race, racism and anti-racism have become such a pervasive feature of political debate in contemporary Britain.

Race arsd Raeism in Contempormy Britain traces the history &political debate and legis- lation about race and racism, the develop ment of national and local political agendas, the role of racist and black political organisa- tions and the impact of urban unrest and conflict. The author's critical analysis of the 'racialisation' of British politics and the find- ings presented in the book lay down a ehal- lenge to conventional interpretations. Priced £8.95 baperback), the book is published by Macmillan.

CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL STUDIES This is a new series, the aim of which is to provide authoritative and concise introductory accounts of key topics in contemporary political studies. The readership will be under- graduate and 'A' level students and appropriate professional groups. The books are published by Simon and Schuster under the Philip Allan imprint, and are all priced at under £7.00 in paperback.

The first titles have now been published. David Denyer's Electionsand Votinglkhaviour in Britain surveys the main themes of British voting studies. It assesses the influence of social characteristics on party choice, the rise of issue voting, the impact of party leaders, and election campaigns and the media. Changes in the factors influencing voting behaviour are related to the results of general elections since 1950, and the book concludes with an analysis of the 1987 election result and the electoral prospects of the major patties.

Denver's book, which is extensively referenced and fully indexed, is the ideal introductory text in this field. The same can be said, in the area of pressure groups, about Wyn Grant's Pressure Group, Politics and Lkmocracy in Britain. Starting from a review of definitions and typologies, Grant sets out the main theoretical perspectives on pressure group activity and then assesses the ways in which groups influence ministers, civil servants, Parliament and the political agenda.

The book takes a timely look at the organisation of pressure groups at the European Community level. The effectiveness of pressure groups is examined, illustrated by a case study of agriculture and the environment. Finally, Pressure Groups, Politics and h c r a c y in Britain assesses the role of groups in relation to the wider issue of the character of modern democratic politics, and examines questions such as whether pressure groups reinforce biases in the political process.

Other titles in the Series which are in pre- - paration are:

Anthony Seldon (ed.) Party Politics in the UK siaee 1945 Michael Connolly, Polibics and Government in Northern Ireland John Benyon (ed.), The Constitution in Question Peter Madgwick, BziW Govemmemt at the Centre

1 Philip Notton, Parliament and Politics q Richard Topf, British Political Culture John Kingdom, Local Government and PoLitics Shamit Saggar, Race and Politics ia Brit&

The Series has four intentions: * to isform the reader about the history, context and key factors; to reviaeu recent developments and academic research and debates; ta interpret and analyse these developments and explanations; to evaluate future possibilities and prospects. The books are all around 60,000 words, or 160 pages, in length.

Authors who would Iike to contribute to the Series are invited to contact the Editor: John Benyon, Centre for the Study of Public Order, University of Leicester, 6 Salisbury Road, Leicester, LE1 7QR.

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ESRC AND THE PSA GRADUATE CONFERENCE

Dear Editor, In the Spring 1989 edition of PSA NEWS

you reported on the ESRC's decision not to fund the PSA Graduate Conference. Perhaps you will allow me to make some observations on your reported concerns?

You report that 'there are many depart- ments that lack either the resources or the expertise to provide their postgraduates with adequate, comprehensive, methodological training', and argue that this is one of the reasons which justifies ESRC support for the Conference. In 1990 the ESRC will, in the normal way, be inviting departments to reapply for recognition for the purpose of supervising ESRC-funded students. The statement quoted above suggests that many departments should be denied recognition on the grounds that they cannot offer adequate research training for their students. Is it, therefore, the view of the PSA that only a few departments are worthy of ESRC recognition?

Secondly, it surely cannot be the policy of the PSA that the primary responsibility for training students should lie with the ESRC directly, rather than with the staff of recog- nised departments? If the ESRC were to acquire such a responsibility it would, at least, require the capacity to determine cur- riculum content, set standards, accredit de- grees, etc. I am not aware of any demands for the ESRC to intervene in this way; nor would the ESRC wish to do so.

It is not the policy of the ESRC to fund basic research training via events like the Graduate Conference but to support ac- tivities in order to transmit research techniques which are either highly specialised andfor consist of new develop- ments. I fail to see how this constitutes 'a retrograde step'. There is certainly room for dicussion about precisely where the respon- sibilities of departments end and those of the ESRC begin, but the primary responsibility for research training remains where it always has - in the departments.

Finally, I note that the Graduate Confer- ence performs, inter alia, the functions of 'boosting postgraduate moral (sic) . . . and informing them about future career

possibilities'. ESRC funds are used for research ~raining: these other laudable aims would seem to be an excellent use of the funds of a learned society.

In the run up to next year's recognition exercise, the ESRC is giving considerable thought to the training needs of the social sciences in the 1990s. I have stated publicly that I am concerned about the standards of technical competence in British social science compared with those in other countries, especially the United States. I would wel- come a constructive debate within the PSA about how the ESRC can ensure that im- proved standards of research training can be achieved among the students that we fund. Perhaps the PSA could solicit the opinion of heads of departments on this issue, too.

Howard Newby Chairman, ESRC Cherry Orchard East, Swindon

Fmm rlk -r aF the 1989 PSA Grrduarc Codemace

Dear Editor, I very much welcome Profesor Newby's

readiness to discuss ways in which graduate research training can be improved.

However his letter does not address the central problem I encountered when seeking ESRC sponsorship for the 1989 Graduate Conference, namely that the Council's appa- rent limitation of funding to training ac- tivities relating only to new methodological approaches is not very helpful in relation to improving graduate training in political sci- ence.

I also find it difficult to understand why the ESRC should object to supporting an event the programme of which was partially concerned with career possibilities. The feedback from the 39 participants indicated that this session was very valuable to ESRC and non-ESRC graduates alike. Morale, too, would appear to have been raised by the event.

I hope that the PSA and ESRC will discuss the funding of future graduate training as a matter of urgency. The present situation is

unsatisfactory, not least for the ESRC's own graduate students. This year they were not reimbursed for their conference expenses until a month after the event; indeed they did not even receive from the ESRC a firm pre-conference undertaking of reimburse- ment and thus had to decide whether to book or not amidst worrying financial uncertainty.

Yours sincerely, Richard Gillespie PSA Graduate Conference Organiser Department of Politics University of Warwick

Professor Newby comments:

Dr Gillespie states that he findsit 'difficult to understand why the ESRC should object to supporting an event the programme of which was partially concerned with career possibilities'. The ESRC does not object to this activity - on the contrary we find it entirely laudable. It is, rather, a question of priorities. The Training Board took the view, which I support, that it could not give priority to supporting this kind of activity in the light of the other demands made upon its very limited budget.

Dr Gillespie raises the issue of reimburse- ment of conference expenses.. . The main reason for the delay is that we are dependent upon an external computing bureau . . . this situation will remain until 1991 when we will be able to share services with the other research councils. I can only apologise for the delay which is something from which we all suffer . . .

The failure of some students to receive from the ESRC a firm pre-conference under- taking of reimbursement is clearly a point on which the ESRC might be regarded as culpable. However, this period coincided with the major disruption caused by the ESRC's move to Swindon . .. we lost over 70% of our staff and it was, I regret to say, inevitable that efficiency would suffer. I can only apologise to the students who were affected but, under the circumstances, the ESRC did the best it possibly could.

WINTER 1989

Dear Editor, I noted with interest that the PSA agreed

to participate in the latest UGC Research Selectivity Exercise. As you may have noticed in the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) Newsletter, BAAL de- clined to do so on the grounds that it may well be actually counter to the Constitution of our Association. You may also be aware that the British Psychological Association de- clined to participate for similar reasons.

At the AGM of BAAL, at the University of Exeter in September 1988, there was much strong feeling that somewhere, somehow, a stand had to made against what was seen as this limiting and constraining exercise. The fmal decision was to refuse to make any evaluative judgements at all, but to offer ad- vice in a general sense.

Best wishes for the continued success of your Association and Newsletter in these anti-academic times.

John NomSh Edam, BBAA NNewtter, Institute of Education, University of London

I - _

The editmal andprodwnbn team ofPSA NEWS is vety gratefi,Zfor all the cm- and messages which have been sent rk or telephoned thrmgh. Sugges- h, mir'&, and of course matenizl for inclmhn, are always aappreczatea'. Readers may be interestedto see a selecnbn ofthe commend tht have been made a6out PSA NE VS.

'Congratulations . . . I enjoyed reading i t and 'It is a very impressive production . . . It's Liked the style.' good to see the PSA defending and advancing

Jdiet Lodge, Univern& of Hull the cause of political studies with such en- thusiasm and style!'

Phi1 Stanworth, University of York; Editor 'It really is an interestmg and well-presented BSA ~~~~~k production. ' S.R., SurffmdFkzre Po&rechnri. 'Congratulations on the excellent PSA

NEWS.' Bobby Pyper, Paisley College '. . . imaginativepresentation.. . a t w d e f i e ,

far beyond what is ordinarily thought of as a newsletter . . . ' 'I think that the new format and content are

Ken Gladdish, Uni'xt& of Readzirg really excellent!' Professor Jeremy Richardson, University

'I just had to drop a note to congratulate you and your team for the superb edition of 'Congratulations on the new format of the

thenewsletter. zt is a to the profession! PSA newsletter . . . it's just what the profes-

I look forward to further issues. ' sion needs . .. a very professional publica- . - Colin Thain, Univem& of Exeter non.'

Alan Ware, University of Warwick

'I have to congratulate you warmly on the 'Excellent.' presentation and content of the newsletter John Curtice, University of Strathclyde ... it is difficult to see how other national associations can compete with its level of ~~~~~~~~~~~~i~~~ on a most impressive news- professionalism. I wish it the best of success.' letter! I look forward to the next issue.'

John CoaMey, National Institute fmHigher ~ d l i ~ ~ o , L ~ ~ ~ J ~ ~ , ~ ~ ~ l i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ l Education, Limerick University; Secretary, Australian Political

Studies Association

'Many congratulations . . . a most professional C H ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ on the new P ~ A production . . .' Newsletter. It looks superb.'

Jim Sharpe, University of Oxford Ivor Shelley, R q a l Institute of Public Administration

'Unspeakably vulgar . . . couldn't bring my- self to open it . . . instructed scout to put it 'Congratulations on the first issue of PSA

straight in the bin ...' NEWS.'

Anon, University of Oxford John Bochel, University of Dundee

'Unspeakably vulgar . . . couldn't put it down .. . just what we need - keep up the good

I work.' Mick Moran, University of Manchester

'I found the first number of PSA NEWS very interesting indeed. It is useful for a Vice-Chancellor to be kept abreast of subject news on a wide basis . . .'

Professor Fred Holliday, Vice-Chancel- lor, University of Durham

'What a splendidly produced publication' Iain McLean, University College, Oxford

'Informative and well presented. Keep it up!!'

Vincent McKee, Stamford College, Lon- don

'A very useful source of information on the profession'

Robert H. Taylor, School of Oriental Studies, University of London

PSA NEWS

IUFC Research Selectivity Exercise.. .

As members of the PSA sorely recollect, the first 'Research Selectivity Exercise' in 1986 treated the discipline of politics very badly. Then, 31 of the 38 departments included in the exercise were found to be average (16) or below average (15) with only 7 above average (5) or outstanding. The results for politics compared very unfavourably with those for other cost centre 31 subjects, such as sociology and economics.

" . ' . , . r- . ~liek axe: still rstiong .@oa&. :f@,

: .questiomg .the'6!@rlip$o$ie oi:tli& :prcif&sion,. :in. .p~cular:';ii&y/ o,nly;.: fov. dejiariryents recGved .a: 4 r&.,g , , ,. : . ' ..,:. :':'.:, .' ..'i. , . : - : : :', .

... . . . . . . - L .. ...

A glowing testimonial

The 1986 ratings were all the more g a h g in view of the high regard in which colleagues overseas hold British political studies. As the ESRC put it in its recent report entitled H a Z m and Opportunities in the Social Sciences:

British political science has a considerable reputation in a number of fields. British political theory and political philosophy are outstanding in an international perspective. In fields such as the study of electoral behaviour, British work is second to none in Europe. Original work is also underway at the frontiers with economics and at the meeting point bet- ween public policy and political philosophy. There is also much promise in long-term scholarly developments which are attempting to transcend the boundaries of political science, sociology and history.

How peculiar, in view of the ESRC's glow- ing testimonial, that the UGC found only 7 British politics departments (out of 38) which were above average. It was no wonder the 1986 exercise commanded no confidence whatso- ever amongst politics academics.

Reason to feel aggrieved

The 1989 ratings are a step in the right direction. 25 departments received grade 3 or better, 12 departments were given rating 2, and only two were given a rating of one.

However, there are still strong grounds for 1 questioning the overall profile of the profes- ' sion, in particular why only four departments received a grade 4 rating. The UFC defmi- tion of category 4 is that it indicates:

Research quality that equates to attaina- ble levels of national excellence in virtu- ally all sub-areas of activity, possibly showing some evidence of international excellence, or to international excellence in some and at least national level in a majority.

Given the ambiguities contained in this tor- tuous statement, and accepting the difficul- ties of establishing what is to count as international and national excellence, several departments which were graded 3 would appear to have good reason to feel aggrieved that they were not given a category 4 rating, in view of their research output and estab- lished reputations.

Panel beaters

Of course, it was all down to the UFC Panel, which was chaired by Professor Alan James (University of Keele). Its membership in- cluded Professor Nevil Johnson, (Nufhld College) as well PSA nominees Professors Ivor Crewe (Essex), Raymond Plant (South- ampton) and Jeremy Richardson (Strathclyde). The Panel met on three occasions to decide the ratings, and it is clear that there were some border-line cases. It is rather less clear how many - if any - of these marginal cases were raised or lowered at the final meeting. It may be that individual Panel members had rather differing views about the quality of politics research in general, and the outstanding international reputation of the profession.

methods -used by the UFC leave much to he -desired, the more reliabk statistical indicators reveal higMy positive &ends for political studies.. .

The PSA identified three main functions concerning the research selectivity exercise. The primary role of the PSA, as a professional organisation, is to promote the study of political studies. As such, the PSA is concerned to ensure that the discipline of politics is treated nationally on a comparable basis with other social sciences. One of the main problems with the 1986 exercise, of course, was that politics was assessed far less favourably in terms of its overall profile of ratings, and the PSA was determined that this inequitable treatment should not recur in 1989.

Secondly, the PSA has to be prepared to present a good defence of politics depart- ments at the bottom of the ratings, particu- larly when they have been unfairly assessed by the 'snapshot' approach of the research exercise. The PSA has to be able to provide information which a department can use to defend its position within its own university.

Thirdly, the PSA should act as an indepen- dent and trenchant critic of the approach taken by the UFC Research Review. In

particular, the PSA should highlight serious inadequacies in the methods used to evaluate departments, systematic inaccuracies of data, and the lack of procedures for verifica- tion.

It should be stressed that the PSA does not see its role as carrying out departmental rankings itself, and it is wary of becoming co-opted into the process so that it cannot retain its independence.

WINTER 1989

UFC Research Selectivity Exercise.. .

An independent assessment

To prepare its defence of the profession, and to be able to monitor the exercise, the PSA collected the information sent to the UFC from all 41 departments reviewed under the Politics and International Relations Unit of Assessment. To evaluate the responses the Association established a Shadow UFC Panel of three widely-respected colleagues - Hugh Berrington, Alan Ryan and John Vincent. The Shadow Panel provided an independent qualitative assessment of the publication and research records of departments. The PSA also carried out a statistical analysis of the data. The PSA thus examined the same information at the offical UFC Panel.

At their PSA Conference in February 1989, heads of departments heard Ivor Crewe outline some cogent criticisms of the UFC Research Selectivity Exercise, and also heard the response of Professor Alan James. Ivor Crewe's trenchant critique was reported in

The :problem :is- that. there. k no. ,do@e+w . .&out the. inieriqtiofial

..-reputation :of. subjects' and depart- . -m.ents, 2nd"so whether h y or a fsw- departartmen@ .are ranked highly 'hj a~~ven;.subj'eCtessenti~y~refl~ds '.;he. g&~ler@,jfy or. parsimony of the . . . subject . . panel; . . ' - . '

I

detail in the Spring issue of PSA NEWS (Volume 1, Number 3, p. 10). During the early summer, PSA analysis of the depart- mental returns served to reinforce doubts about the way the exercise was carried out.

Three major problems were identified: the UFC set out ambiguous criteria for evaluation; the UFC failed to request verzfubledata; the UFC failed to establish clear and precise rules.

Ambiguous ctiteria for evaluation

The UFC guidelines instructed all panels to rank departments on a five-point scale ac- cording to research standards of national and international excellence:

Category 5 indicates research quality that equates to attainable levels of international excellence in some sub-areas of activity and to attainable levels of national excellence in virtually all others.

Categov 4 indicates research quality that equates to attainable levels of national excel- lence in virtually all sub-areas of activity, possibly showing some evidence of interna- tional excellence, or to international excel- lence in some and at least national level in a majority.

Category 3 indicates research quality that equates to attainable levels of national excel- lence in a majority of the sub-areas of activ- ity, or to international level in some.

Category 2 indicates research quality that equates to attainable levels of national excel- lence in up to half of the sub-areas of activity.

Category l indicates research quality that equates to attainable levels of national excel- lence in none, or virtually none, of the

Problems with the exercise

There are at least four criticisms of these categories that can be put forward. First, they can be criticised as ambiguous. It is not clear what is to count as an indicator of 'national and international excellence'. In some cases it may be obvious, for example publishing in a journal like the American Political Science Review or the British Journal of Political Science, or being invited to give a keynote address at an international confer- ence. But in most cases, to evaluate the myriad of lesser mortals, it is unclear how distinctions are to be drawn.

Secondly, there was no attempt to standar- dise rankings across subjects or even to co-ordinate information between subject boards. Each point of the scale is seen as an absolute standard - the UFC did not appear to be expecting departments to be ranked according to a normal distribution curve. The problem is that there is no consensus about the international reputation of subjects and departments, and so whether many or a few departments are ranked highly in a given subject essentially reflects the generosity or parsimony of the subject panel.

Thirdly, the criteria may lead to systematic biases by sub-field. It is possible that certain sub-fields, like international relations, com- parative politics or political theory, naturally have a wider international audience than, say, the study of local government, Scottish politics or social policy. Some departments may be disadvantaged merely because their expertise is concentrated in 'non-interna- tional' areas' when in fact the quality of their research output is of a very high standard.

Fourthly, the criteria may effectively penalise smaller departments covering a wide range of sub-fields against those with a more specialised focus.

I sub-areas of aclvity. 1 12

Some deparpne!ts may- be disad- vantaged merely because their ex- pertise is concentrated in 'non-inter- national' areas when in fact the qual-

h o d u t is of a

A

Unverifiable data

There are even more serious criticisms about the information collected for evaluating pub- lications. Some data within the reports could be verified, for example: student FTEs, research grants and doctoral awards. But, as they were presented, the figures in the nurn- erica1 summary of books, articles and chap- ters published by a department could not be checked. One problem was the ambiguity of what was to count as a publication for these figures. As one colleague on another subject panel summarised it: 'the data are for the birds'. In which case heads of department could quite rightly claim that it should not have been collected in that form.

In terms uf research, the quantitative indicators look goad. There was a substantial increase in research studentships awarded competitively to pditics postgraduates, from the ESRC or olher sources. -

Unclear and imprecise rules

For the section listing two publications per member of staff (RS2), the UFC failed to provide any precise definitions about what was to count as a book, a chapter or an article. It would not have been difficult to devise appropriate definitions to categorise publications. As a result, without the author- ity of rules, in a Hobbesian state of nature, colleagues naturally applied definitions which best suited their case. One person's monograph was another person's book; one person's departmental seminar paper was another person's learned article.

Some returns clearly and precisely specified whether books should be credited as single authored, joint authored, edited or whether it was simply one chapter in a book, a new edition, or a translation. Others did not. Some listed numbers of pages; others did not. Some included working papers; others did not. There were many examples.

In one case, for example, two books were cited against a colleague's name - one of nearly 300 pages published by a national publisher, the other a working paper of 30 pages issued by a research centre.

To assess the collective output of a depart- ment it would have been far better if the UFC had set clearly understood rules. The returns could have included a full list of books published within the set period, sub- divided into suitable categories such as single authored, joint authored, edited and jointly edited, with a set format for page length, publisher, location, edition and date. Monographs below a certain length (eg 100 pages) and re-prints could have been listed separately or excluded altogether.

although again these were heavily concen- trated in Oxford (134) and the LSE (89). The total amount of research money raised by politics departments also increased dramatically during the period, doubling between 1984 and 1988.

Highly positive trends

Two major conclusions can be drawn. First, as a way of evaluating research output the methods used by the UFC Research Selectiv- ity Exercise leave much to be desired. If a full and fair assessment is to be made it requires far more rigorous methods, more adequate staff resources and more detailed analysis. It would be preferable to use veri- fiable data, andlor thorough and detailed citation research (for all its short-comings).

Secondly, the evidence from the more reliable statistical indicators shows highly positive trends for political studies - in terms of undergraduate demand, the success of postgraduate training and the ability to raise independent research resources.

The profde of political studia

Because of the problems outlined above, the PSA excluded some of the information in the returns from its analysis. However, there is useful information which can be used in aggregate form to analyse the state of political studies in Britain.

The overall news is fairly familiar: politics departments are teaching more and more students, at undergraduate and postgraduate level. From 1984 to 1988 the number of full-time equivalent students in the 41 de- partments increased by 12%, from about 7,000 to 8,000. The average staff student ratio (SSR), obtained by dividing average staff by average FTE, was about 14, although this showed substantial variation from a low SSR of 9 in some departments to a high of 20 or more in others.

In terms of research, the quantitative

MEMBERSHIP OF THE UFC POLITICS

AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PANEL

Professor A.M. James, Department of International Relations, University of Keele;

Professor A. W. Bradley, Faculty of Law, Universi~y of Edinburgh;

Professor I. Crewe, Department of Government, University of Essex:

indicators look good. There was a substantial increase in research studentships awarded Professor N. Johnson,

competitively to politics postgraduates, from NuffieId College, University of Oxford;

the ESRC or other sources. The figures show Professor R. Plant, a 44% increase, up from 119 awards in 1984 Department of Politics, University of to 172 in 1988. The studentships were heav- Southampton; ily clustered in certain departments, with Professor J.J. Richardson, over half in Oxford, the LSE and Manches- Department of Politics, University of ter. Strathclyde;

The number of successful doctoral awards in politics and international relations showed Professor A. Webb, a similar increase of over 40%, from 89 PhDs Department of Social Sciences, University awarded in 1984 to 127 PhDs in 1988, ofLoughborough

WINTER 1989

I UFC Research Selectivity Exercise.. . I

UFCIUGC Research Ratings List I PSA Annual

I Changes between

Departments - moving dam - 5

PSA NEW _

Comments about the UFC ratings have not been favourable...

FLAWED FOUNDATIONS Dear Sir,

. . . Comparisons are distorted by the fact that the Council thinks in terms of 'cost centres', while universities are organised in terms of subject departments. The fact that a 'cost centre' in the sciences, pure and applied, is much more narrowly defined than one in the arts and social sciences must bring the assess- ment of the latter closer to the mean and raises the question of whether like is being compared with like.

This is confirmed by the results: 35 'cost centres' are given the maximum score of five points in the sciences and 20 in the applied sciences, compared with four in the social sciences and one in the arts (three if one includes 'creative arts'). Where alleged weak- nesses are identified, the results are predict- ably similar: 25 in the sciences and 18 in the applied sciences as against two in the social sciences and one or two in the arts.

Minor ambiguities of classification are not enough to account for this enormous discre- pancy. This is a serious matter for the future of our universities, whose research funding will henceforth be calculated in terms of an assessment that rests on flawed foundations.

Yours faithfully

Professor Norman Hampson Department of History University of York Heslington, York

ADVICE WHICH WAS IGNORED

Dear Sir,

. . . In fact the University Grants Committee, the UFC's predecessor, had ample warning in advance that an exercise conducted as it actually proved to be would have little credi- bility for academics in many disciplines, never mind who scored high or low. Our report, Research Selectivity in the Humanities (SCASS, April 1989), analysed the advice offered before the Exercise by 25 national organisations broadly representative of uni- versity arts and social sciences disciplines.

The balance of their views was firmly for

WINTER 1989

extensive qualitative appraisal, after subject- by-subject guidance about criteria and infor- mation, which aimed to give informed advice

SNAP-SHOT THROUGH AN OXBRIDGE LENS Dear Sir,

... This letter is not concerned with the timing and nature of our snap-shot photo-

to all for the future. It was firmly against the graph but rather that it was taken through line in fact taken: rating from mainly quan- the conventional Oxbridge lens. Much of our titative information, collected in wholly stan- dard form across all subjects, and directed just to 'selectivity'.

Having largely ignored such advice - and seeming also to have required its panels to rush the Exercise through at a speed hard to square with appraisal of quality sensitive to the diversity of ends and means in research - the UFC should not now dismiss criticism as mere cries of 'sour grapes'.

Yours truly

Professor J.H. Westergaard Convenor, Standing Conference of Arts and Social Sciences Department of Sociological Studies The University Sheffield

research is carried out in collaboration with industry and is therefore less likely to lead to published papers in journals and to books. We believe that Britain should be doing more, not less, of this kind of research and that view was first expressed in the docu- ments of our foundation nearly 200 years ago.

We wish, therefore, to be compared with the Ecoles Polytechniques, with the Technis- chen Hochschulen, with Stanford and not with Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, thank you very much.

Yours sincerely

Sir Graham Hills Principal and Vice-Chancellor University of Strathclyde Glasgow

DOUBTS ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF A FLAWED EXERCISE

Dear Sir,

Not surprisingly, the results of the Univer- sities Funding Council (UFC) Research Selectivity Exercise have resulted in the production of yet another set of league tables. In practice, this year's league tables are as misleading as their predecessors.

While the Exercise was no doubt con-

Second, given the rules of the game, small departments and institutions will inevitably do less well than large ones - they simply have not had the resources to compete on equal terms, despite the UFC view that the Exercise avoids any bias in favour of the large. For example, nowhere does the UFC define what is considered 'reasonably attain- able' by a department of seven as against that expected of a department of 20.

ducted more carefully than its predecessor, Third, we do not know what weight the doubts must remain about the outcome and various panels gave to different modes of about any comparisons then made. Given that the Royal Economic Society believes that it has uncovered flaws in the exercise - a view which is shared by the Political Studies Association - it is worth making several points in this context.

First, the overall level of performance is undoubtedly much higher than it was three years ago, and there is much about which all those in unversities can justifiably be proud. All are performing much better than they were at the beginning of the decade, and this

publication, but given that the results were published much earlier than expected, it is difficult to believe that full consideration was given to all the different types of publication for which universities were asked to provide details.

Last, and most importantly, nowhere does the UFC indicate the extent to which it undertook verification of the publication details provided. If those data are inaccurate, then judgements based on them will be misleading, and the Exercise will indeed be

through a period when public resources fatally flawed. made available to universities have been declining in real terms. But when standards are rising it is worth remembering that to rise up the ladder requires a well-above-

Yours faithfully

Professor Michael Goldsmith average level of performance over what is a Chair, Political Studies Association relatively short period between reviews. University of Salford

*Extracts from four letters to The Indepe~zdenr

PSA NEWS Qp.nlan--.m .

Cover Stories T he UFC has announced its research

rankings and departments must live with the results. For some there was

pleasure at the boost to their reputations; for most there was a sigh of relief that things could have been worse; and for the unlucky third there is a period of anxiety while they wonder what their future will be now that they have been cast as goats rather than sheep.

But the natural tendency to take comfort or despair from one's individual situation should not inhibit the proper academic ap- praisal of the exercise as a whole. Least of all should those who have done less well than they hoped or expected be put off from criticism by the 1980's cliche of 'they would say that, wouldn't they?'. For it has become apparent that the panels' exercises of judge- ment were severely constrained by the cir- cumstances in which they had to work.

Unconstrained subjective assessments

'ficial accounts and 'off-the-record' riefings are by now so widespread iat it is quite easy to establish the

basic tacts of the panels' operation. The Politics Panel met three times. On the first occasion its members discussed the ground rules and sought to become clear about the definitions of excellence in terms of which they were to make their judgements. The second meeting was given over to a compari- son of the innitial gradings of departments that individual members had produced inde- pendently. The third, and final, meeting dealt with marginal cases and the overall profile of the rankings.

It had become clear to the Panel from an early stage of the exercise that a significant amount of error was likely to be present in the returns. The Panel made the judgement that this might not be random error, and so would affect the relative assessment of diffe- rent departments. The chief effect of this assessment was a decision to dispense with the quantitative information of published output, and to focus attention upon the entries for two published items per indi- vidual member of staff.

It is worthwhile pausing to ponder the significance of this decision. A research rank- ing should properly be a mixture of quantita-

Albert Weale University of East Anglia

tive and qualitative - the objective and the subjective. To ignore the quantitative assess- ment of output not only missed one essential element of any worthwhile research ranking, but meant that the subjective assessment of the Panel members operated unconstrained by any objective account of output per head.

Moreover, the process had to be under- taken in a short period of time, and it was therefore impossible for Panel members to read and form a judgement upon anything more than a small portion of the items listed in the returns. In consequence, Panel mem- bers fell back upon indirect indicators of quality, for example the standing of journals or book publishers, or the reputation of the items listed.

Children are taught they should not judge a book by its cover. The assessment Panel seems to have erected the opposite of this principle into the chief basis of the rankings. Their principle was the cover criterion. Since one of the Panel members is well known for giving bad reviews to books he has read, it must have been a novel experience to be able to give bad reviews to books he has not read.

Lack of substance

A nd here is the nub of the matter. The exercise appears in its public presentation to be one of peer

review, familiar to us all as authors and referees. Whatever the verdict when our work is assessed as a result of peer review, it is a reasonable and generally well-founded expectation that it has been read and an independent expert assessment made. But the outward show of peer review lacks any substance in the case of the UFC exercise. If the panels read only a small proportion of identified items, they were not conducting a peer review but merely exchanging reputa- tional assessments.

When political scientists teach their stu- dents about the weakness of the reputational technique in the assessment of political power, they point out that such a technique is defective since it will identify not just those with power but those thought or perceived to

have power. The most significant question to arise from the Panel's working is how such an elementary distinction could have been ignored when the subject of assessment was not political power but academic perfor- mance.

The answer to this question is, I believe, simple. It is this. Once the premises on which the UFC was conducting the exercise were granted, the members of panels had no option but to act as they did. The UFC had taken over the UGC's commitment to a comprehensive research ranking of all sub- jects in a short period of time. Once you accept that this is the task to be undertaken, you must also accept that it cannot be done in a satisfactory way.

Trying to do the impossible

T he sheer quantity of information in- 1 volved would ensure that a relatively I

small number of assessors would be l

swamped if they sought to make a series of I genuinely independent rankings, let alone l

sought comparability across different sub- jects. The UFC assessment was reputational because that is how it had to be. Reading and reflection take time and this is something

l

that the panels did not have. l

It is by now a familiar lesson of political economy that the basic problem with at- tempts at comprehensive planning of re- sourse allocation is that central planners will quickly be overwhelmed by information they cannot process in the time available. The UFC has obviously not read Hayek. So they press ahead trying to perform the impossible. Since what they are trying to do is impossi- ble, they have to reject all the mechanisms of scrutiny and accountability that are nor- mally so central to the academic enterprise.

The whole style of the review - with its absence of written justification of assess- ments, its non-disclosure of criteria until after the assessments had been made and its absence of appeal mechanisms - confirms this basic fact. Until the standard procedures of academic peer review are restored to the management of universities, the grading exercises will remain what they currently are - cover stories.

Albert Weale is Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia.

PSA NEWS

PSA Conference Venues FoDowing the forthcooling Annual Coafer- ence at the University of Durham, the 1991 AnnuaI Conference will be hosted by the University of Bristol, at which the Lea1 Organiser will be Dr Nick Renggtr. Queen's University, Belfast isearmarked for the 1992 Conference, subject to final agreement on detailed arrangements.

Offers to host subsequent conferences have been received from a number of hstitu- tions, for which the PSA is very grateful. The Executive is keen to receive further such offers so that the geographical rotation of PSA conferences can be managed on as fair a basis as possible. Departmentb w i ~ h i n g t~x

host future conferences should infarm PSA Executive Director Ian Furbes.

I Keohane Wins Grawemeyer Award The second University of Louisville Grawemqyer Award for Ideas Improving the World Ordet. has been won by Robert Kmhane for his w f k Afca B e g m y : Coopetutia and Discord in the World Pditicat Ecmmmy, published by Princeton Univerity Press. Winners of the Erst (1988) award were Rtchard Neustadt and Ernest May for their ideas set out in Thinking in Tinse (Free Press).

Nominations are invited for the third annual competition for the best idea, promoting improved rejarions berween nations, published between July 1985 aad August 1989.

Submissions for the award may address a wide range of international concerns such as: foreign policy and its formation, the conduct of foreign relations, inter-cultural reIations and communications, international Iaw and organistion, the rule of law and the role of force, international development, and international trade and investment; or any idea which could at least incrementally lead to more just and peaceful inte~ational relations.

r Nominations are invited from throughout the world by individual political scientists, by professional associations lof political scientists or related disciplines in internatio~al selati.ons, by university presidents or by publishers and editors of journals and books in political science and international affairs. Nominations and requests for entry fvms or further information should be sesenr to: University of Lauisville, Grawemeyer Committee, Department of Political Science, University of Lauisville, Louiwille, KY 40292, USA.

Professor Stuart Walkland Stuart WalMand, who died in May of this year, was a leading authority on Parliament and a strong advocate of constitutional reform. He lectured on politics at Sheff~ld University from 1917 untiI his early retirement because of ill health in 19185. He was appointed to a personal chair in 1981.

walk land*^ research focused on the powers and procedures of Parliament. Hc was one of the founders, and hter chairman, of the Srudg of Parliament Group, which brought together university teachers active in the field of parliamentary s~udy and officials in the Home of Commons and House of Lords. He wrote and edited a number of major studies, including The fk!gislari~e Process in Great Britain /1968), The Hause of Gmmons in the 20th Csn8w-y (1979) and, with Michael Ryle, The Commwof zn tAe 1970's f 1977) and The Cmnmons Today (1981).

Desirable reforms Firm advocate 1

He was heavily invalved in the debate in the 1960s on the reform of Parliament initiated by Bernard Crick. The reformers were in favour of sweeping procedural changes de- simed to d u c e the dominance of the execu- tive over the legislature. They wanted to implove tbe ability of the Commons to subject the actions of the executive to more detailed scrutiny, and advocated, among other reforms, the greater use of select com- mittees.

WalMmd supported the goals of the refor- mers, but during the 1970s became ex- tremely sceptical of many of their remedies. He argued that procedural changes, however desirable and overdue, wouId only be effec- tive if real power Was shifted to the legisla- ture. The creation of a swong opposition to complement a strong government was un- realisable so long as the working uf the British Constitution concentrated all red power in the hands of the executive.

The validity of Walkland's critique of the limits of procedural reform is now widely accepted. The critique arose from reflection on the h a d u l consequences of the adver- sary style of the two-party system. Walkland argued that adversary politics undermined the consensus and destroyed continuity of policy and was also the key factor in subor- dina*g the legislature to the executive, through the operation of party discipline. He became a firm advocate of the need for constitutional reform, in particular ekctoral reform, to improve both the representative- ness and the effectiveness af Parliament.

The conclusion?j from his own studies of why parliamentargr reforms could not suc- ceed under the existing system made him political& homeless for a time. But in 1981 he joined the SDP, the principles of which so closely resembled his own. His academic wrrk had anticipated the great upsurge of

interest in constitutional reform of which Charter 88 is a recent ~xmple .

Major contribution

Sruart Walkland's academic distinction brought him international reeognition as a specialist on legislatures. He collaborated on several comparative European projects and had a keea intemt in political education and the extension of educational opportunity.

He made a major eonaibution CO Sheffield University and to the political science profes- sion through his work for the Politics Ass&- ation, the London Examination Board, md the Joint Matriculation Board. He fought hard to widen access for mature students to universities at a time when it was distinctly unfashionable to do so, and generations of mature students will remember him for the assistance and encouragement he gave them.

Stuart Walkland was an incisive and at times paIemic reviewer, but as a teacher and colleague he was known for his warmth and generosity and for the support he gave to students and friends. He had a great love of wine, whisky, Italian ears and the music of George Meliy. He was an unforgettable pre- sence in the university.

Andrew Gamble

Stzaart AlQn WalFtEaad; lectwer and writer m politics; b m ShefiEd 13 Januauly 1925; mm'd 1965 Iris Faula Kahn; Hkd SheffzeId 39 May 1989.

PSA NEWS

Cuba: 30 Years On An international gathering of Cuba specialists, including Professor Jorge Dominguez of Harvard, several other US- based Cuba scholars and Professor Pedro Monreal Gonzalez of Havana, met at the Uni- versity of Warwick on 12-14 May for a con- ference organised by Dr Peter Ferdinand and Dr Richard Gillespie of the Politics Depart- ment. The revised papers on 'Cuba, 30 Years On: The Dynamics of Change and the Inter- national Dimension' will be published in the near future in The Journal of Communist Studies, which sponsored the event.

omir U

K.**F**a "nces.. .

ISPA Oslo Round Tdble The IPSA Round Table, hosted by the Norwegian Association of Political Science, took place in Oslo from'22-25 August 1989. The keynote address was given by Professor Johan Olsen (University of Bergen) on 'Mod- ernisation Programmes in Perspective'.

Other papers included: Jorgen Christen- sen (Aarhus) 'Parallel Politics: Deregulation and regulation'; Les Metcalfe (European Zn- stitute of Public Administration) 'Accountabil- ity and effectiveness'; B. Guy Peters (Pittsburgh) 'The Modernisation of the Pub- lic Sector'; Tom Christensen (Oslo) 'Bureaucratic Roles: Political Loyalty and Professional Autonomy'; Krister Stahlberg (Aabo Academy) 'The Pursuit of an Adminis- trative Policy'; William Smirnov (USSR Academy of Sciences) 'Modernisation and Political Reforms in the USSR: Rival Forces'; Oscar Oszlak (CEDES, B w o s Aires) 'Redemocratisation and the Moderni- sation of the State: The Alfonsin Era in Argentina'.

ESRClESF Conference on Political 1 Participation in Europe 5-8 January 1990

The Conference is being held at the Univer- sity of Manchester A and is being sponsored by The Economic and Social Research Coun- cil and the European Science Foundation. The aim of the Conference is to review the current state of studies of political participa- tion and to investigate the possibilities of de- veloping new work and of coordinating exist- ing research efforts. Details are available from: Professor Geraint Parry, Department of Government, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL.

Workshop on the Politics of Consensus in Britain and France 7 February 1990

The venue is the University of Loughborough, A and the seminar is or- ganised by the Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France, in as- sociation with the European Research Centre at Loughborough University. Speakers are Serge Berstein (IEP, Paris) and Peter Morris (University of Nottingham). Further details from: Denise McKnight, European Re- search Centre, Loughborough University, LE1 l 3TU (Telephone: 0509.222997).

Conference on Rights, Politics and Reproductive Technology 24 February 1990

The venue for this one-day conference is the LSE in London. It is organised by the PSA Women and Politics Group and the BSA Gender Studies Group, and further details are available from: Joni Lovenduski, Depart- ment of European Studies, Loughborough University, LE1 l 3TU (Telephone: 0509.222981).

Seventh International Conference of Europeanists 2 S 2 5 March 1990

The Council for European Studies will con- vene its Conference in Washington, DC. The Conference is cross-disciplinary and in- ternational. Sample issues of the Council's European Studies Newsletter are available from: Conference 90, Council for European Studies, Box 44, Schermerhorn, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.

British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2--5 April 1990

The 1990 Annual Conference of the British Sociological Association will be held at the University of Surrey, Guildford. The aim of the Conference is to bring together two of the key issues in sociology: social divisions and social trends. Papers on any aspects of social divisions are welcomed, as are methodological papers addressing the analysis of social change. Key questions in- clude:

How are the social relations of consump- tion changing? What are the consequences of the shift from a 'Fordist' towards a more 'flexible' mode of accumulation? Are advanced societies moving from a modernist towards a post-modernist cul- ture? What are the implications for social jus- tice of the current restructuring of wel- fare? What social divisions and social changes are occurring inside contemporary families? Are longitudinal data methods essential for understanding social change?

Further details can be obtained from: The Organising Committee, Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 SXH.

European Consortium for Political Research Annual Workshops 2-7 April 1990

The venue for the ECPR Joint Sessions is the Ruhr-Universitat, Bochum, West Germany. Workshops have been arranged on a wide variety of topics including: 0 the welfare state high-risk technologies economic models of political behaviour na- tional executives women in European poli- tics socialism in the Third World polit- ical violence intermediation of interests e administrative reform national economic strategies political biography election campaigning crisis management territo- rial minorities foreign policy and public opinion the extreme right. Full details are available from: Helen Hughes, Central Ser- vices, ECPR, University of Essex, Col- chester, C 0 4 3SQ.

WINTER 1989

POLITICAL STUDIES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE 10-12 April 1990

Full details are given in the PSA Conference section of this issue of PSA NEWS. The Academic Organiser, to whom offers of panels should be made, is Albea Weale, School of Economic and Social Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7QP (Telephone: 0603.592064). The Con- ference meets in Durham at the University of Durham and the local organiser is Dr R.W. Dyson, Department of Politics, Uni- versity of Durham, Durham, D H l 3LZ (Telephone: 091.374.2000).

British Association for Japanese Studies Conference, 17-19 April 1990

The Conference is being hosted in New- castle upon Tyne by the Northumbrian Uni- versities' East Asia Centre. Further details from: Professor R. Drifte, Department of Politics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU (Telephone: 091.222.6444).

History of Ideas Colloquium 18-20 April 1990

The Colloquium will be hosted by the Humanities Department at Brighton Polytechnic. Papers will include discussions of different theoretical and methodological approaches. Further details are available from: Bob Brecher, Department of Humanities, Brighton Polytechnic, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9PH (Telephone 0273.606622 Ext. 326).

Nietzsche Society Conference 28 April 1990

A one-day conference on Nietzsche in April 1990 will take place in Colchester. It will be hosted by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Essex and the occasion will mark the launch of the Nietzsche Society of Great Britain. Anyone who would like to organise or participate in a workshop should write to: Keith Ansell-Pearson, Department of Political Studies, Queen Mary College, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E l 4NS.

Democratisation in Comparative Perspective Conference 1 G 1 7 May 1990

The venue for the Conference is the Univer- sity of Tampere, Finland. Papers on the following themes are invited: theoretical explanations of democratisation; political strategies; social prerequisites; global or regional analyses of democratisation. The Conference is organised by the IPSA Study Group on Comparative Democratisation and the Finnish Political Science Association. Further information from: Tatu Vanhanen, Department of Political Science, University of Tampere, P.O. Box 607, 33101 Tampere 10, Finland.

Democracy and the Development of Political Science Conference 15-18 May 1990

The Conference, organised by the Intern- ational Committee for the Study of the Development of Political Science, will take place in Barcelona, under the chairmanship of David Easton. Full details from: Professor David Easton, Social Science Tower, Uni- versity of California, Irvine, CA 92717, USA.

Workshop Study of Political Science 21-22 May 1990

The IPSA Research Committee on the Study of the Discipline of Political Science is hold- ing a workshop in Paris on the theme 'Approaches to the Study of Political Science as a Discipline'. Further details from: Profes- sor Michael Stein, Department of Political Science, McMasters University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M4, Canada.

IPSA Research Committee on Comparative Judicial Studies late Maylearly June 1990

The meeting will be in Victoria, British Col- umbia, during the Canadian Learned Societies Annual Meeting. The main themes are 'Courts and the Enforcement of Rights in Comparative Perspective' and 'Govern- ment Responses to Judicial Policy Mistakes'. Details from: Professor C. Neal Tate, Con- venor, Research Committee on Comparative Judicial Studies, Department of Political Sci- ence, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203-5338, USA.

Conference on Gender Equality and Changing Regimes 1-2 June 1990

The IPSA Study Group on Women, Politics and Developing Nations is holding a Confer- ence in New York on the theme 'Issues of Gender Equality and the Politics of Changing Regimes'. Papers are invitedon the following panel topics: national liberation from col- onialisation; transition from authoritarian regimes to democracies; grass roots move- ments and mass mobilisation; foreign inter- ventions. ~urther:nformation from: Profes- sor Najma Chowdhury, Department of Polit- ical Science, Dhaka University, Nilkhet, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Round Table on Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities and the State 4-7 July 1990

The Round Table will be held at the Univer- sity of Limerick, Ireland, and is being organised by the IPSA Research Committee on Politics and Ethnicity. The objects of the meeting are to explore the principal domains in which subordinate ethnic and linguistic groups come into conflict with the state, and to analyse the principal strategies used to resolve these conflicts. Further details from: John Coakley, College of Humanities, Uni- versity of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.

International Association for Communist Studies 20-21 July 1990

The theme of the Conference is 'Reform and Resistance to Reform in Marxist-Leninist States'. There will be panels on: 'Friends and Foes of Perestroika', 'Restructuring and Labour', 'The Market and Political Control', and 'Research Directions in Comparative Communism'. Further information from: Stephen White, Department of Politics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8RT; David Lane, CREES, University of Birming- ham, Birmingham, B15 2TT; Bogdan Szaj- kowski, School of Administrative Studies, University of Wales, Cardiff, CF2 3AS.

PSA NEWS

PSA Members' Questionnaire Results At the time of the ballot for the Executive, in May 1989, members were also invited to fill in a brief questionnaire in which they assessed the value of the PSA's publications and activities. A large number of members responded and a summary of the results is provided here. In each case the responses are given in percentages.

ASSESSMENT

. F*" . .. ; -very pQbr . . . . . - . .G.:. . - pjO:.

7 , . ; , : ' . j . l ; .. ,.. : - -2$4:. .:.:..,.l:,2-.,

.:&l , . ::lt,:o. ' , . ao-,:.'

PRIORITY ACTIVITIES

Members were also asked to indicate which activities and publications they would like to see given priority during the next twelve months. Activities which scored particularly high were defence of the profession [very high priority: 77%; high priority: 21%] and public relations [very high: 62%; high: 34%]. Annual conference was given 'high' or 'very high' ratings by 95%, and graduate conference was also given high priority [very high: 31%; high: 46%].

Other activities which scored highly were research promotion [very high priority: 35%; high priority: 46%] and graduate train- ing [very high: 33%; high: 34%]. All the PSA publications received high priority ratings, with Politz~al Studies receiving a 'very high' or 'high' rating from 84%, and Politics and Survey of t h Profession each being ranked as very high or high priority by some 63%.

PSA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE I Executive Meetings As a result of the postal ballot held in May, the following members were elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Association:

David Denver University of Lancaster Ian Gordon Kingsum Polytechnic 5 Howard Elcock Newcastle Polytechnic David Morgan University of Liverpool 5 Andrew Gamble University of Sheffield $ Pippa Norris University of Edinburgh 5 Vince Geoghegan Queen's, Belfast Andrew Reeve University of Warwick 5 Mike Goldsmith University of SaIford Ursula Vogel University of Manchester

indicates that the member is elected to serve until May 1990; indicates that the member is elected to serve until May 1991.

The dates of the Executive Committee meet- ings during the next year are as follows: 17 February 1990; 12 April 1990; 16 June 1990; 22 September 1990; 24 November 1990.

Any items for discussion should be sent to Ian Forbes, Executive Director, at least three weeks before the meeting.

Stein Rokkan Prize The International Social Science Council (ISSC) Stein Rokkan Prize in Comparative Research will be announced in December 1990. The prize, worth $2000, is awarded for a very substantial and original contribu- tion in comparative social science research by a scholar under forty years at the end of 1990. The closing date for entries is 15 March 1990. Full details can be obtained from: Secretary General, International So- cial Science Council, UNESCO, l Rue Miollis, 75015 Paris, France.

NEW IPSA COMMITTEES

The International Political Science Association (IPSA) has established two committees, one on the Status of Women, to be chaired by Carole Pateman, and the other for the Advancement of Young Scholars, to be chaired by Itzhak Galnoor. Their mandates are to explore and propose actions to allow and encourage women and young scholars to expand significantly their participation and leadership in IPSA, both as a means of advancing their careers, and of enriching the intellectual and institutional life of the Association. The Executive attaches great importance to these committees, and would very much appreciate suggestions and ideas. Please write to: Carole Pateman, Department of Government, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006 Australia; Itzhak Galnoor, Department of Political Science, Hebrew University, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel.

WINTER 1989

PSA NEWS O P ~ I ~ ~ U I ~ m . m * *

The Editor invites contributions, and reactions, to PSA NEWS Opinion

A Perplexing Portrait The gist of this short book has been retailed over a number of years, at seminars, dining tables and research councils. Indeed, readers of Nevil Johnson's (usually) pained book reviews, in THES and elsewheie, will know that the author finds little pleasure in reading most politics books these days. Much of what he reviews appears to be poor stuff, indeed should not have been written at all.

Johnson's book will be grist to the mill of our political masters and spokesman for competing social sciences, who will see that politics can be a soft touch in the search for limited funds.

Endangered species

The Limits of Political Science is a statement of how and why we have gone wrong. But it is no mea culpa. It is, rather, a story of how the rest of us have gone astray and the author's own type of work is held up, with commendable candour, as a model which we should emulate. Although a Fellow in Bri- tain's foremost college of postgraduate social science research and a past chairman of the politics section of the ESRC, he writes like a member of an endangered species. He is an 'insider' writing as an 'outsider'.

The brevity of the book allows the argu- ment to stand out; it is also repeated fre- quently. It is a forthright attack on much of what goes on in political science today - in teaching and writing. Johnson attacks the sheer diversity and shapelessness of what is offered. There is no core: 'The menus are nearly always too diverse in contect to offer the prospect of even a minimum of intellec- tual coherence' (p. 115). So much for those who point to diversity as a strength.

Old hat

The book discerns two principal idioms. In 'Politics as Present Action' we are charged with whoring after fads or the latest develop- ments in current affairs. But politics is more than what politicians do. We can, for exarn- ple, reasonably study the premiership of Lloyd George but not that of Margaret Thatcher.

Wheareas the events and practices sur- rounding Lloyd George are completed and

Dennis Kavanagh University of Nottingham

settled, this is not so 'when the actor is still at work, nor even when the events or cir- cumstances in which he or she played a part lie in the recent past, and therefore, project themselves into the present' (p. 45). Dr Johnson wants to see the body before con- ducting an autoposy. This is the best chapter and his warnings against the 'higher gossip' and need for distance are salutary.

Critical appraisal

The second idiom to be debunked is 'Politics as Science'. The model of the natural sciences, particularly the quest for reg- ularities and generalisation, is rejected as inappropriate for the study of political be- haviour. This is old hat. His attack rests upon a particularly narrow definition of science, perhaps an obsessive misuse of the term. This temper lay at the root of Lord Joseph's decision to rename the Social Sci- ence Research Council the 'Economic and Social Research Council'. It is a pity that a few social scientists naively made ambitious claims. For Johnson the politics departments at the universities of Oxford and Essex are where the two respective idioms are in the ascen- dant. There are only occasional references to specific pieces of faulty work. Johnson feels safer in making generalised attacks. He has not, however, looked far outside his small Oxford college for illustrations of in- adequacy.

In the last two chapters Johnson leaves the debris behind and tries to be constructive. One chapter offers a brief 'reconstruction' of how we should proceed, promising a fuller

account on another occasion. His final chap- ter, of but ten pages, suggests ('a few remarks . . . if only a sketch') what politics is about. One might think it an odd choice of priorities for an author to spend so much time in destruction and so little in reconstruction.

Johnson calls for a greater infusion of history and philosophy into the study of politics. One provides a source of experience, the other cultivates the means of critical appraisal. Politics should be part of the humanities and seek to explain rather than search for generalisations.

The passing show

In Johnson's new world there will be much study of the great political theory texts (not Johnny-come-latelies like Nozick and Rawls). These will be the historical and philosophical components of what he calls 'pure politics'. There will also be 'applied politics': much public administration will be 'useful' for those going into government service.

One fails to see that these two idioms will make the subject more coherent. There will be little scope for surveys or quantitative studies. Quantitative behaviour is 'necessar- ily behaviour stripped of its important qual- ities, behaviour taken out of its context and often aggregated for use within some artifi- cial framework' (p. 123). No doubt political studies related to gender, the environment and much else will also be ruled out.

Finally, Johnson eloquently appeals for the restoration of a humanistic perspective to the study of politics. He claims that the study belongs to general education, to the moral sciences. Positivists, utilitarians and those 'corrupted by the fascination of the passing show' are disqualified fiom such study.

PSA NEWS

Confident and unqualified

M U C ~ of this could have been written at any

. . . . -

Volume 1, Number 4 Winter 1989-90

The Newsletter of the Polit tudies Association of the United Kingdom Centre for the Study of Public Order, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH

Heads of Departments meet to discuss the problems and uncertainties facing departments in polytechnics and colleges

POLITICS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR In March Heads of Department met at the Royal Commonwealth Society for a one-day conference, organised by the PSA, on the problems facing Politics in public sector institutions.

From the Chair, Ian Gordon (Kingston Polytechnic) outlined some of the major issues and one of these was taken up by the first speaker, Ms E. Lanchbery (Assistant Direc- tor, Kingston Polytechnic), who addressed the question of new contracts and conditions of service. After reviewing the details of the PCFC proposals, she explained that they reflected the duties already undertaken by public sector lecturers. Consequently, the 'Silver Book' conditions were outdated.

MS Lanchbery then presented the employers' arguments for a 'professional' contract, alluding to the Marks and Spencer's contract, which requires one per- sonnel officer for every sixty employees! Unfortunately, Mrs Lanchbery failed to ad- dress the issues of professional autonomy, the need for an adequate salary structure to compensate lecturers for the proposed changes, and the question of the allocation of lecturers' time between teaching, re- search, consultancy and administration. The audience was left with the impression of a very 'managerialist' approach which ap- peared to be alien to the objectives of higher education.

The second speaker, Jim Nugent (Kings- ton Polytechnic), examined the question of 'relevance', which has been discussed in past issues of PSA NEWS. He argued that it was ironic that a Government committed to mar- ket forces had ignored the private and social rates of return to higher education. In a clear exposition, Nugent pointed out that the subjects popular with the present Govern- ment had a private and social rate of return which was apprownately one-third of that achieved by social science subjects. Clearly, if the market was pre-eminent, the Govern- ment should acknowledge the transfer skills associated with a social science education.

Swrised and gratified

Viewed from the private and social basis, higher education exhibits a rate of return to justify the expansion of the whole sector. Jim Nugent pointed out, however, that higher education should be viewed more widely than simply the financial rates of return, since the considerable benefits to the indi- vidual and society are often not captured in these calculations.

The audience was both surprised and gratified to learn about the high standing of social sciences as reflected in the measured rate of return, based primarily upon Govern- ment sources. Moreover, they felt that this information should be more widely dissemi- nated in higher education institutions to counteract the prevailing mythology. In- deed, the only studies that claim to establish an overall shortage of engineers and scientists are those prepared by the relevant profes- sional bodies!

Widening access

After lunch, the Conference heard from John Barnes (London School of Economics) about student loans. He provided a summary of the variety of schemes available, which are more fully documented in his paper with Nick Barr - The Alternative White Paper in Higher Education. In his summary, he criti- cised the Government's scheme, which is based upon loans from the banking sector

, (mortgage-type loans), and proposed that

loan payments should be linked to the Na- tional Insurance system (income-contingent loans).

This approach, he argued, would be far more equitable and administratively effi- cient. Moreover, student loans would not have a negative b p a c t upon access to higher education. Indeed, if the funds generated by a sfudent loan system were re-directed to- wards the 16-18 age group, this was a much more effective strategy for widening access in higher education than the present grant system.

Plan of action

In the final session, Ian Gordon outlined the conclusions of the PSA working party which examined the problems facing Politics in the Public Sector. The working party's deliber- ations were reported in the last issue of PSA NEWS (Volume 1, Number 3, p. 36).

In summary, its proposals were: The benefits and 'relevance' of political studies should be publicised widely; The changes in political studies in public sector institutions should be closely mon- itored; The 1982 survey of political studies in the public sector should be repeated; The PSA should lobby the PCFC, the Employers' Forum and the DES on the conditions of service of politics lecturers in the public sector; The position of postgraduate training in political studies in the public sector should be examined by the PSA; The ESRC should be approached to dis- cuss public sector departmental recogni- tion and the PSA should seek ways to give assistance to part-time and full-time postgraduates in the public sector.

These proposals were fully accepted by those present at the Heads of Department Conference and will provide the basis for future action by the PSA. The Conference concluded by thanking Neil Collins and Ian Gordon for organising the event, con- gratulating the speakers for their stimulating presentations.

PSA NEWS W i s h ~ E R e d z r s a H* MdProsperous New Year