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Differentiated Polity

A differentiated polity consists of various interdependent governments, departments, and agencies. Political integration and administrative standardization are limited. Rule takes place through a maze of institutions and a complex pattern of decentralized functions. Governance is thus fragmented between organizations that cover different territories or deliver different functions. It occurs in and through networks composed of the relevant governments, departments, agencies, and other social and political actors. The groups within the networks are interdependent. Each relies on cooperative exchanges with the others to secure parts of its agenda. The networks themselves are often self-organizing. They have at least some autonomy from the center.

Beyond the Unitary State

Perhaps the main use of the term differentiated polity is to draw a sharp contrast with concepts of a unitary state. A unitary state is characterized here by the presence of an identifiable polity with clear boundaries and with a sovereign will that formulates law. In contrast, a differentiated polity is characterized by fuzzy boundaries and by the flow of power and authority downward, upward, and outward. It is often suggested that these flows of power have increased recently as a result of devolution, globalization, and contracting out.

The contrast between a differentiated polity and a unitary state is especially important for the Anglo-governance school. The Westminster Model portrayed the government of the United Kingdom in terms that privileged parliamentary sovereignty, cabinet government, executive authority, and a neutral civil service. The Anglo-governance school counters this portrait with one of the United Kingdom as a differentiated polity characterized by a hollow state, a core executive, and multiple networks. This school draws on theories of governance that arose in discussions of the European Union (EU) and the new public management. These theories inform an account of governance in which power is diffuse. Central government is just one of several public, voluntary, and private bodies involved in the policy process. Although the core executive typically has a preeminent place within networks, it rarely can dictate and control policy. Rather, the center tries to steer and regulate networks by means such as financial control, negotiation, and audit. This analysis of a differentiated polity draws attention to gaps between the Westminster model and the actual practice of governance in the United Kingdom. It highlights, for example, the importance of links between the EU and subnational authorities in the administration of structural funds.

Related Concepts

Concepts such as networked polity or disaggregated state closely resemble that of the differentiated polity. These other concepts are often used to describe emerging patterns of European and global governance. Hence, they refer to territories that few people ever imagined to be governed by a unitary state. The EU resembles a networked polity in that it relies on a complex web of committees and societal associations to advise, manage, and regulate varied aspects of governance. Similarly, global governance seems to resemble a disaggregated state in that it relies on various trans-governmental networks. States and nonstate actors collaborate here within diverse networks to address shared concerns. Although some global networks are composed of states and constituted by legal treaties, others are informal networks composed of, say, national regulators and the main private organizations they regulate. Indeed, transnational groups and corporations often generate private governance regimes of rules, norms, and principles that then guide their actions. Global governance consists partly of attempts to regulate and coordinate such private governance regimes.

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