Drug policy constellations : the role of power and morality in the making of drug policy in the UK / Alex Stevens.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stevens, Alex, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drug control--Government policy--Great Britain.

Drug control.

Drug control--Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 224 pages) : illustrations

Other Title:

Path to Open

Place of Publication:

Bristol : Bristol University Press, 2024.

Summary:

How is UK drugs policy made, and why does it so often seem irrational when considering what works in reducing drug-related harms? This book explains how the concept of drug policy constellations – the loosely concerted policy actors with shared moral commitments that influenced policy outcomes – explains why there is no such thing as 'evidence-based' drug policy. Drawing on his participation in high-level policy discussions, and a novel approach to policy analysis, Stevens presents three recent cases involving key issues in UK illicit drug policy – medical cannabis, drug-related deaths and the government’s 10-year drug strategy.How is UK drugs policy made, and why does it so often seem irrational when considering what works in reducing drug-related harms? This book explains how the concept of drug policy constellations – the loosely concerted policy actors with shared moral commitments that influenced policy outcomes – explains why there is no such thing as 'evidence-based' drug policy. Drawing on his participation in high-level policy discussions, and a novel approach to policy analysis, Stevens presents three recent cases involving key issues in UK illicit drug policy – medical cannabis, drug-related deaths and the government’s 10-year drug strategy.

Contents:

Front Cover

Half-title

Drug Policy Constellations: The Role of Power and Morality in the Making of Drug Policy in the UK

Copyright information

Dedication

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

About the Author

Preface

1 An Introduction to Drug Policy Constellations

A note on reading this book

Titular, descriptive concepts

Sub-titular, explanatory concepts: power and morality

Explaining drug policy with policy constellations: the structure of this book

Conclusion: drug policy as a testing ground for the policy constellations approach

Part I Contexts, Concepts and Methods for Studying Drug Policy Constellations

2 Facts and Narratives of the UK Drug Policy Context

Medical and penal control in UK drug policy

Drug-related harms: public health crisis or crime epidemic

Drug use in the UK

Conclusion: the abundance of drug-related facts and narratives

3 Power and Morality in Policy Making

Political and social power and its stratifications

Forms of political power: institutional, legal and coercive

Forms of social power: economic, epistemic, affective, media and savvy

Stratification and reproduction of power: the unequal distribution of the ability to influence policy

Moral foundations, bases and narratives for understanding policy making

The effects of morality

The contents of morality

Overlapping moral, material and affective imperatives

Conclusion: all policy is morality policy

4 Policy Constellation: A Critical Realist Approach

Critical frameworks for policy analysis: a very brief introduction

What are policy constellations?

Morality as "shared mission"

Policy constellations and forms of power

Constellations and reflexivity: where you stand affects your view

Conclusion: the advantages of the policy constellations approach

5 Studying Policy Constellations in the Real World

Casing and sampling for ethnography, interviews and documents

Ethnography of policy work

Elite interviewees

Documents for discourse analysis

Coding and analysis of fieldnotes, interviews and documents

Narratives and tropes

Factoids

Policy positions

Policy actors

Coding

Ethico-political bases

Analysis of policy constellations with SNA

Two-mode SNA

Nodes and ties

Creating sociograms

Policy constellations as SNA modules

Conclusion: mixed methods for studying policy constellations

Part II Morality and Power in UK Drug Policy Constellations

6 Moralities in Action: The Ethico-Political Bases of UK Drug Policy

Compassion: a shared, but differentiated value

Traditionalism: big and small C conservatism

Default paternalism: limiting freedom to protect from harm

Progressive social justice: fairness as equality and the removal of disadvantage

Liberty: self-enhancement and making money

Moral overlaps and mutual repulsion

Conclusion: the ethico-political bases of UK drug policy

Notes:

Title from online title page (viewed on May 22, 2024).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Stevens, Alex. Drug policy constellations.

ISBN:

1529231442

9781529231441

1529231434

9781529231434

9781529231328

1529231329

OCLC:

1415892427

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.