PhD Research

The Policy Making Process: A Case Study of the 1991 Child Support Act

My PhD research uses the 1991 Child Support Act as a case study of the British policy making process. The 1991 Child Support Act provides us with a brilliant case study of various aspects of poor policy formation and inappropriate delivery, and subsequent policy failure. I look particularly at policy formation and implementation, and the reasons why policy-makers pursued certain actions. I examine the role of power and power relationships within the core executive and assess their links to poor policy formation and delivery.

Research Interests

• Contemporary British public policy
• Theories of the policy making process
• The influence and impact of policy transfer, policy learning and policy networks/communities
• Policy implementation
• The dynamics of power and power relationships within Government
• British politics since 1945
• Party politics in Britain, particularly the history and development of the Conservative Party
• Debates surrounding research methodology

Biography

MScEcon Politics and Public Policy, Cardiff University (Distinction)

BScEcon Politics and Modern History, Cardiff University

Research Unit

European Governance, Identity and Public Policy