DSpace Repository :: Browsing by Author "Knox, Colin"

Browsing by Author "Knox, Colin"

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Open Access
Access and Performance Inequalities – post-primary education in Northern Ireland
(Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 2014) Borooah, Vani; Knox, Colin
Northern Ireland's schools system is undergoing a radical review. The first stage in this process is to reform the post-primary sector in response to the Education Minister's call to 'put pupils first' and raise the overall standard of educational performance. An excess of school places, reduction in public expenditure on education, and opportunities to examine segregated schooling have all hastened this reform. Drawing on data gathered by education bodies for the purposes of the review, this paper examines those factors which best explain education performance and highlights the social injustices in the existing system.
Open Access
Adapting University Education for Changing Expectations of Public Services Leaders and Managers: New Guidance for Designing and Delivering MPAs
(Public Money and Management, 2010) Coxhead, Francis; Grauberg, Janet; Joyce, Paul; Lawes, Tanya; Massey, Andrew; Knox, Colin
Guidance for designing and delivering Masters in Public Administration (MPA) programmes has just been approved by three key stakeholder bodies - the Public Administration Committee (of the Joint University Council), the Public Management & Policy Association, and the Public Administration Specialist Group of the UK’s Political Studies Association. The Guidance benefitted from contributions by staff of the National School of Government and of Government Skills. Why is the development of this Guidance timely, what was the thinking behind it, and what are the principles that should be followed in designing and delivering MPAs? As will be seen, we give a lot of attention to the needs of the civil service and the new skills agenda for central government, because this is an important recent development, but the Guidance has been drafted for central government, regional bodies, local government, and all other public services organizations.
Open Access
‘ADMINISTERING THE SUMMIT’: THE CASE OF KAZAKHSTAN
(2008) Kassymova, Dinazat; Knox, Colin
Kazakhstan was formed as an autonomous Republic within the Russian Federation in August 1920 and became a Republic of the Soviet Union in 1936. In 1989 Nursultan Nazarbayev became head of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. The Supreme Soviet elected Nazarbayev first Kazakh president in 1990 and declared state sovereignty. In December 1991 Nazarbayev won uncontested presidential elections (98% of the vote) and Kazakhstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 1995 the President’s term of office was extended until 2000 at a nation-wide referendum and in January 1999, in an early election, he was returned for a seven year term by almost 80% of voters. The most recent Presidential elections were held in December 2005 when Nazarbayev won a third term with more than 90% of the vote. The people of Kazakhstan have to live with the aftermath of Soviet-era nuclear testing and toxic waste dumping. President Nazarbayev got rid of the nuclear weapons on Kazakh territory and sees his greatest achievement as building an independent country without violence or a split along ethnic or religious lines. He has also led a period of significant financial and economic reforms (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2007). Following independence, Kazakhstan engaged in a programme of economic reforms where prices were liberalized, trade distortions reduced, and small/medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) privatised. The treasury and budget processes were dramatically improved. More recently, a framework for public resource management was introduced which lays the foundation for a modern civil service. The creation of a National Fund (in 2000) to save part of the revenues from oil and other extractive industries has been used to increase social spending and share the benefits of economic growth. Since 2000 the economy has shown significant signs of improvement with GDP annual growth in 2006 at 10.6% (World Bank, 2006). The government is attempting to promote economic diversification and growth in the non-oil sector. Diversification into labour-intensive sectors is necessary for growth in employment and incomes, as well as to reduce the economy’s vulnerability to swings in the price of oil. It is against this political and economic background that we consider politico-administrative patterns in Kazakhstan by examining the actors, structures and processes supporting the administration of the Office of President of Kazakhstan.
Open Access
‘An Acceptable Level of Violence’ Community Response to Crime: Northern Ireland and South Africa
(The Journal of Conflict Studies, 2001) Monaghan, Rachel; Knox, Colin
This paper, drawing on focus group interview material, will therefore examine ways in which the communities in Northern Ireland and South Africa have responded to crime both during the conflict and thereafter. If the raison d’être for ‘political’ crime has been removed once a negotiated settlement is reached and the legitimacy of the State reaffirmed by agreement, can communities then subscribe to the formal system of criminal justice? Given the relatively recent, albeit fragile, arrival of a ‘peace’ settlement to Northern Ireland the paper considers what lessons, if any, can be learned from the South African post-conflict experience and its efforts to deal with community responses to crime.
Open Access
Building Public Service-Oriented Government in China
(The International Journal of Public Sector Management, 2007) Knox, Colin; Qun, Zhang
Purpose: Legislative hearings are a relatively new way of encouraging citizen participation in administrative law making within China. The first such hearing in Liaoning Province (Dalian City) was held in April 2005. This paper examines the detail of the hearing process and attempts to assess its effectiveness as a mechanism for engagement between citizen and the state. Methodology: The authors consider both the practicalities of running a public hearing and its influence on the legal regulations under scrutiny. More generally, and within the limits of one case study, we consider whether hearings have the potential to shift the balance of power away from the state and its officials towards a more inclusive form of decision making. Research implications: Finally, the paper examines whether citizen participation, as a means of public service-oriented government in China, has been influenced by the wider global reform process of New Public Management (NPM) and modernisation, synonymous with developed countries
Open Access
Building Trust amidst Corruption in Bangladesh
(Journal of International Affairs, 2009) Knox, Colin
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, became an independent state after the civil war of 1971 and joined the Commonwealth in 1972. It is a densely populated South Asian country with some 142 million people who commonly experience natural disasters in the form of floods and cyclones in the flat land and delta of rivers on the Bay of Bengal. Poverty is widespread with GDP per head estimated at just $444 in 2007, or almost half the population living on less than one dollar per day (Oxford Economics, 2008). Since independence, Bangladesh has experienced political turbulence and spent 15 years under military rule until democracy was restored in 1991. Continuing unrest and violence have been a major impediment to economic growth set alongside the increasing strength of Islamic fundamentalism. Politics have been dominated and polarised by the two largest political parties, long-time rivals the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The October 2001 elections produced a BNP victory in the form of a 4-party alliance. The opposition party, Awami League, refused to accept the result and from 2001-2006 their attendance at parliament was sporadic, claiming discrimination by the BNP speaker. Violence and political strikes/hartals have accompanied the political turmoil. In August 2004, twenty people were killed and more than 100 injured in a grenade attack at an Awami League political rally. In January 2005 the former finance minister, Shah Kibria, was assassinated along with four colleagues and over 70 injured in an attack at an AL rally in Northern Bangladesh. Since summer 2006 opposition parties, directed by Awami League, claimed that the BNP-led government was seeking to manipulate the electoral infrastructure and announced in January 2007 a boycott of the general election. The parliamentary elections were cancelled. On 11th January 2007, the President declared a state of emergency and a reconstituted unelected military-backed caretaker government was put in place. Under the constitution, executive power rests with the caretaker government until a prime minister heading a new administration is sworn in following a parliamentary election. Foreign governments were keen to see emergency rule lifted and the restoration of full constitutional rights amidst reports of human rights abuses and mass arrests. Parliamentary elections were held on 29th December 2008 to a new civilian government after two years of emergency rule. One of the most fundmental obstacles to building trust in Bangladesh is the pervasiveness of corruption at many levels: parliament, elections, and the delivery of core public services. People feel powerless to address the excesses of corruption and have lost faith in the democratic system. The role of the caretaker government was to tackle polarization and patronage and, in so doing, to establish trust in the democratic process. This paper considers the ‘success’ of building and maintaining trust in Bangladesh’s parliamentary democracy
Open Access
Bureau Shuffling? The Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland
(Public Administration, 2006) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 resulted in the return of devolved government to Northern Ireland and, with it, a decision by the Executive and Assembly to conduct a radical review of public administration. As the review reaches its final stages this paper considers the likely outcomes. It argues that the parameters of the review will limit its impact and describes the reform proposals as structural changes or administrative rationalisation, devoid of a wider modernising approach to improving public services. The on/off nature of devolution could result in ‘one of the major tasks for devolved government’ (according to the Northern Ireland Executive) being implemented by Direct Rule ministers
Open Access
Cohesion, sharing, and integration in Northern Ireland
(Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 2011) Knox, Colin
The devolved government in Northern Ireland pledged to work for a `shared and better future for all' in its Programme for Government 2008 ^ 11. In pursuit of this goal it launched a consultation document entitled Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration which challenged the assumption that division and segregation is a `normal' pattern of living. I locate the policy proposals contained within the new programme in the research on community cohesion in Great Britain. I interrogate, using attitudinal data, people's preferences for the kind of society they want Northern Ireland to become and the policy consequences of their choices. Using two case studies in education and housing, I highlight the benefits of a shared society and question whether Northern Ireland can embrace the core elements of an intercultural society.
Open Access
Community planning in Northern Ireland: Participative Democracy in Practice?
(2005-01) Knox, Colin
Local Government in Northern Ireland entered a new phase of its development in April 2015 when 26 pre-existing councils were reduced to 11 local authorities with a range of additional functions. This structural change is significant for a number of reasons. First, the new councils represent the culmination of a process of reform which commenced in 2002 under the Review of Public Administration whose remit incorporated wider changes to health, education and functions delivered through non-departmental public bodies. Second, the original intention of the Review was to create ‘more powerful councils with responsibilities for an increased range of functions’ (Pearson, 2004:1). Given the history of local government in Northern Ireland, such a move signalled a renewed confidence in councils to deliver services in an impartial way (Tomlinson, 1980). Third, in recognition of the complexity of devolved governance arrangements at Stormont, with 12 government departments created primarily to meet the requirements of power-sharing, local councils offer the prospect of integrated public services provision which are more responsive to users. This paper provides a brief overview of local government (1972-2015) up until the most recent structural changes– a retrospective narrative. It also considers the potential for the 11 larger councils to improve the quality of life of its citizens through new statutory powers of community planning – a prospective analysis. The paper concludes with a case study example of one new council (Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council) to illustrate how community planning can, in practical terms, be used to hold central government departments to account for service provision at the local level.
Open Access
Consolidating peace: Rethinking the community relations model in Northern Ireland
(Administration, 2018) Knox, Colin
Northern Ireland has now moved from ‘negative’ peace (the absence of violence, largely) to ‘positive’ peace (confidence-building measures to consolidate gains in voting practice and in reducing discrimination against the minority community in employment and housing allocation). This transition has involved funders at the European, regional and local levels investing in peace and reconciliation measures to consolidate political gains made since the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in 1998....
Open Access
Dealing with Sectoral Corruption in Bangladesh: developing citizen involvement
(Public Administration and Development, 2009) Knox, Colin;
Bangladesh has had a troubled political history since gaining independence in 1971 and is also beleaguered by poverty and natural environmental disasters. In particular however, corruption is blighting its prospects for economic growth, undermining the rule of law, and damaging the legitimacy of the political process. This paper adopts a sectoral approach to the study of corruption by examining people’s experiences of using health and education services in Bangladesh through a large scale quantitative survey. It also presents case study research which assesses the impact of anti-corruption work by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in the areas of health and education. The paper concludes that: the poorest in Bangladesh are most penalised by corruption; there are significant benefits for health and education service users resulting from TIB’s interventions; and there is a need for committed political leadership beyond the period of the current caretaker government if ongoing efforts to tackle corruption are to be effective and sustainable.
Open Access
Democratic Renewal in Fragmental Communities: The Northern Ireland Case
(Local Governance, 2003) Knox, Colin
Northern Ireland is perhaps the locus extremis of fragmental communities in the United Kingdom. The ethno-national tensions and political violence that have ravaged the Province for over 30 years continue unabated at a number of interface areas where single identity Catholic and Protestant communities live cheek by jowl. Intimidation, threats, rioting and naked sectarianism in the form of pickets mounted to protest against Catholic primary school children walking through ‘a Protestant estate’ (the so called 'Holy Cross' dispute) testify to increasing territorialism and community segregation. All of this continues despite the historic constitutional settlement in the form of the Belfast Agreement in which signatories affirmed their ‘total and absolute commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences on political issues, and opposition to any use or threat of force by others for any political purpose’ (Belfast Agreement, 1998: 1). This demonstrates, however, that the long-term ‘cohesive, inclusive and just society’ promised in the constitutional agreement cannot be delivered solely through a consensus amongst the political elite at Stormont, but must be grounded in work undertaken within communities who must endorse and see the tangible benefits of the peace dividend. Residents of North Belfast, for example, would need much convincing that the Belfast Agreement has delivered peaceful community co-existence . This paper examines local governance and the role of the active community in the democratic renewal of Northern Ireland. It considers this in 3 phases. The first phase (1921–1972) might be described as a period of disrepute, during which local government was discredited as an elected forum and used to consolidate Unionist hegemony. The second phase could be styled the emasculation of local government and the emergence of a strong voluntary and community sector to fill the vacuum left by the democratic deficit of Direct Rule from Westminster (1972-1999). The final and current phase might be characterised as a period of democratic renewal (1999 onwards) or what Carmichael (1999) has described as ‘devolution-plus’. This period involves a twin track approach. One element includes a review of public administration arrangements in Northern Ireland incorporating local government, quangos and agencies (but importantly not the 11 government departments). The second element has three aims: firstly, to develop more formal arrangements with the voluntary and community sector in the decision making processes of government departments; secondly, the institutionalisation of social partnership through the Civic Forum, established under the Belfast Agreement; and finally, the emergence of local partnership arrangements in a number of important functional areas (health, community safety and ‘well-being’). The dilemma facing Members of the Legislative Assembly, who have been bereft of electoral power for nearly 30 years, is how to balance the need to involve an active community alongside rebuilding a local democratic base. This poses particular questions about the future role of local government in Northern Ireland under a reformed system of public administration. The fact that these three temporal phases correspond to key political milestones in the political chronology of Northern Ireland should not be surprising. The focus of this paper will necessarily be on the final phase although a short summary of the first two stages should provide a context for discussions which follow
Open Access
Devolution - the Northern Ireland Way: An Exercise in 'Creative Ambiguity'
(Environment and Planning Series C, 2005) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
Devolution in Northern Ireland followed directly from the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement which provided, inter alia, for a democratically elected Assembly ‘inclusive in its membership, capable of exercising executive and legislative authority, and subject to safeguards to protect the rights and interests of all sides of the community’. More than six years on, the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly are in suspension for the fourth time (the latest since October 2002). The conjunction of devolution and the implementation of the Agreement mean that the former is wholly dependent on the vagaries of the latter and, as a consequence, has devalued the potential of devolution to improve the governance of Northern Ireland.
Open Access
Devolution and Constitutional Change in Northern Ireland
(Manchester University Press, 2007) Carmichael, Paul; Knox, Colin; Osborne, Bob
This edited volume brings together researchers from the ESRC Devolution and Constitutional Change programme, whose projects examined Northern Ireland either exclusively or as part of a comparative project, and other established experts in the field. The book aims to assess the Northern Ireland experience from four key perspectives. First, it considers the inextricable link between devolution and constitutional developments, to which Bogdanor refers. Second, it examines how the main political parties responded to devolution and the major challenges faced by society in moving beyond conflict (such as political symbolism, the role of women, equality and human rights issues). Third, it attempts to assess some of the outworkings of devolved government in its short-lived form or those seeded in devolution and carried on by direct rule ministers. Finally, Northern Ireland devolved government and associated institutions are located within the wider relationships with Westminster, the Republic of Ireland and Europe. The specific contributions of authors are considered in more detail.
Open Access
Devolution in Northern Ireland
(Public Money and Management: Debate Piece, 2010) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
Northern Ireland should not have received an invitation to the ‘10 years of devolution’ celebration party! Power was devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and its Executive Committee of Ministers on Thursday 2nd December 1999 following the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement on 10th April 1998. Things went downhill quickly thereafter! The Blair Government saw devolution as a mechanism to advance the peace process by encouraging republicans and loyalists into an elected assembly and weaning them away from violence. The (then) Ulster Unionist Party leader agreed to share power with Sinn Féin on the condition that they decommissioned their weaponry. When this didn’t happen, suspension of the devolved Assembly followed on 11th February 2000. This fitful process was to continue and devolution was suspended indefinitely for the fourth time by the (then) Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, John Reid, in October 2002 due to ‘a lack of trust and loss of confidence on both sides of the community’ precipitated, in part, by accusations made against Sinn Féin of intelligence gathering in Stormont - a charge vehemently denied by republicans.
Open Access
Equality and equity: An emerging government policy in northern ireland
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1994) Knox, Colin; Hughes, Joanne
A series of equality and equity measures has been introduced by the British Government to tackle the seemingly intractable problems of Northern Ireland. These measures represent a range of initiatives in the areas of social need, fair employment, education reform and community relations. The implementation of the community relations programme is considered in some detail as a case study in improving equality and equity in Northern Ireland. Qualitative data from community relations officers, charged with implementing the policy, are examined in the light of problems encountered with the programme. The influences on delivering community relations, as one component of this comprehensive thrust to attain equality and equity, are also considered using an explanatory model. The article concludes that changes in attitudes and behaviour between the two communities are occurring, albeit slowly, promoted by the measures described. © 1994, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.
Open Access
Establishing Research Legitimacy in the Contested Political Ground of Contemporary Northern Ireland
(Qualitative Research, 2001) Knox, Colin
Despite the plethora of literature on the macro politics of Northern Ireland, there is a dearth of material on grassroots activity, in particular the dynamic between communities and paramilitary groups which enforce ‘law and order’ in working class areas. Political progress in the form of the Belfast Agreement (1998) has overshadowed the ongoing level of violence at the micro level and the voice of victims remains unheard in the search to attain a greater goal – a long-term political and constitutional settlement. This paper examines the methodological difficulties in establishing research legitimacy in the contested political arenas of Northern Ireland. It considers issues of access, establishing the researchers’ bona fides, openness and transparency, language and personal security, and offers some insights into research in sensitive topics
Open Access
Fear of Reprisal – Researching Intra-Communal Violence in Northern Ireland and South Africa
(2003) Knox, Colin; Monaghan, Rachel
Measuring the impact of violence is fraught with problems, not least because of the definitional problems around what constitutes violence and how this might be quantified. If one considers violence perpetrated by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland or vigilante groups in South Africa then the task becomes even more difficult. This chapter will examine methodological problems associated with gaining access to, and undertaking research in, the dangerous arena of paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland and vigilante violence in South Africa. It will consider the difficulties in obtaining reliable information on the levels of violence particularly from official police sources, and the way in which this type of crime is classified. Other statistical sources such as pressure group data will be examined and problems highlighted with the use of documentation gleaned from tendentious organisations. Data about the impact of violence from primary research are also fraught with problems. Victims, for example, can be reluctant interviewees for fear of paramilitary/vigilante reprisal. A ‘victim’ of paramilitary/vigilante ‘punishment’ may be an erstwhile perpetrator of violence. Should one treat internecine turf wars between paramilitaries in Northern Ireland in a similar way to violence meted out in pursuit of their political goals? These and other issues make the measurement of the impact of violence difficult methodological questions. This chapter will therefore highlight these problems and examine how we managed them within this study of intra-communal violence.
Open Access
From the Margins to the Mainstream: Community Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland
(Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, 2013) Knox, Colin
Paramilitary organisations exerted a stranglehold on working class loyalist and republican communities in Northern Ireland during the conflict. In the absence of an effective and legitimate policing service, paramilitaries developed an alternative ‘justice’ system in which they ‘punished’ those accused of committing crimes against the community. They adopted a punitive system of control which included threats or warnings, public humiliation, curfew, exiling, beatings and shootings. This article traces the evolution of this system from illegal paramilitary ‘policing’ through to restorative justice schemes which, over time, have become a recognised part of the formal criminal justice system. Specifically it examines the role which a series of evaluations had on influencing this transformation. At the very least, policy evaluation informed the political debate and provided evidence to move restorative justice from illegal activities to an integral part of the criminal justice system
Open Access
Good Governance Matters in Kazakhstan
(Astana Times, 2016-12-09) Knox, Colin
Good Governance Matters is the strapline of Nazarbayev University’s Graduate School of Public Policy. But what does “good governance” mean for the citizens of Kazakhstan? If Kazakhstan is to join the top 30 developed countries in the world as set out in the President’s 2050 Strategy, then having high quality public services will be key to achieving this. There are important signs that good things are happening in Kazakhstan in this regard.