Governance as a paradigm for industrial relations reform and labour politics : A discussion of Bevir and Rhodes’ Interpreting British Governance

This article discusses how the notion of “governance” and the paradigm of “narratives of governance” may illuminate the study of recent developments in industrial relations and labour politics in Britain. The starting point is what may be called a “substantial”, all-encompassing understanding of governance, which is assessed against the recent trajectory of industrial relations in Britain. The article then shifts towards an “epistemological” understanding of governance, in so far as the notion of “governance” encourages scholars to decentre their approach of institutions from the traditional top-down Westminster model of policy-making to a more complex, dynamic approach. A parallel with Foucault’s project of studying “governmentality” – “la gouvernementalité” – is suggested. The final section of the article explores the notion of “narratives of governance”, and how it may provide a means of understanding changes in labour politics and in the Labour Party’s positioning over the past thirty years