TY - JOUR
T1 - Questioning Post-Political Perspectives on the Psychological State:
T2 - Behavioural Public Policy in the Netherlands
AU - Whitehead, Mark
AU - Jones, Rhys
AU - Pykett, Jessica
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2020/3/1
Y1 - 2020/3/1
N2 - Behavioural public policy is associated with the rising influence of psychological and behavioural sciences on systems of government. Related policies are based on the assumption of human irrationality and use a series of often unconsciously oriented policy tools to pursue varied public policy goals. This paper argues that existing critical analyses of behavioural public policy can be categorized as post-political in their orientation. Post-political theory is primarily concerned with how political consensuses, particularly around expert forms of government administration, tend to close off opportunities for political contestation and challenge. Drawing on an empirical case study of emerging forms of behavioural public policy in the Netherlands, this paper challenges some of the core assumptions of post-political critiques of behavioural governance. The case of the Netherlands is also used to challenge the often absolutist assumptions about the nature of the political, expertise, and consensus that characterize post-political forms of inquiry more generally.
AB - Behavioural public policy is associated with the rising influence of psychological and behavioural sciences on systems of government. Related policies are based on the assumption of human irrationality and use a series of often unconsciously oriented policy tools to pursue varied public policy goals. This paper argues that existing critical analyses of behavioural public policy can be categorized as post-political in their orientation. Post-political theory is primarily concerned with how political consensuses, particularly around expert forms of government administration, tend to close off opportunities for political contestation and challenge. Drawing on an empirical case study of emerging forms of behavioural public policy in the Netherlands, this paper challenges some of the core assumptions of post-political critiques of behavioural governance. The case of the Netherlands is also used to challenge the often absolutist assumptions about the nature of the political, expertise, and consensus that characterize post-political forms of inquiry more generally.
KW - Behavioural public policy
KW - Netherlands
KW - post-political
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85071525200&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/2399654419867711
DO - 10.1177/2399654419867711
M3 - Article
SN - 0263-774X
VL - 38
SP - 214
EP - 232
JO - Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy
JF - Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy
IS - 2
ER -