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Postmaterialist forces and political triggers

David Erdos

in Delegating Rights Protection: The Rise of Bills of Rights in the Westminster World

This conclusionary chapter explores the implications of the Postmaterialist Trigger Thesis (PTT) of bill of rights institutionalization beyond the four Westminster democracies from whose experience ... More

This conclusionary chapter explores the implications of the Postmaterialist Trigger Thesis (PTT) of bill of rights institutionalization beyond the four Westminster democracies from whose experience it was developed. The first half of the chapter examines the wider direct applicability of the PTT, arguing that it should fit other instances of deliberate bill of rights institutionalization in internally stable, advanced democracies. The genesis of the Israeli Basic Laws on human rights (1992) is explored as an exemplar case. The second part considers the broader relevance of the PTT. It argues that the PTT's focus on the importance of political triggers in stable, advanced democratic settings importantly mirrors the emphasis on political transition within less‐stable settings. Finally, the book explores the postmaterialist conceptions of rights and bills of rights arguing that, in contrast to classic liberalism, these conceptions are not based on a presumption of State non‐interference. In fact, such conceptions have encouraged a reorientation of human rights so as to accommodate and, on occasion, even require State action. At the extreme, and despite their very different long‐term historical origins, postmaterialist bills of rights may become co‐opted into the State‐directed audit and risk management explosion which has become a hallmark of advanced industrialized democracy.Less

Audit Society, Neorigorism, and Evaluation Machines

in The Evaluation Society

This chapter furthers understanding of the audit society, which was previously discussed in Chapter 3. The audit society, thus named after Michael Power diagnosed such a society as one where formal ... More

This chapter furthers understanding of the audit society, which was previously discussed in Chapter 3. The audit society, thus named after Michael Power diagnosed such a society as one where formal accountability is considered as its ruling principle, is more aptly characterized by evaluation machines and neorigorism. This chapter shows that the audit society maintains some form of balance between rationality and autonomy, two main principles that guide the modern social imaginary. This chapter also shows why and how the audit society opens up as a type of social order and how the evaluation machines are applied in this social imaginary.Less

Auditing and accountability

Anders Hanberger, Lena Lindgren, and Lennart Nygren

in Social and Caring Professions in European Welfare States: Policies, Services and Professional Practices

The chapter presents a conceptual framework for studying the interplay of audit and democratic governance in today’s audit societies. The presented framework is then used to analyse how two major ... More

The chapter presents a conceptual framework for studying the interplay of audit and democratic governance in today’s audit societies. The presented framework is then used to analyse how two major audit systems play out in a specific, but major, welfare area, namely the elder care sector in Sweden. The chapter also examines the implications of audit and accountability for elder care policy and governance, and discusses desirable as well as perverse consequences for key-actors in the field with a special focus on professionals.Less

Modernity and Its “Evaluation Imaginary”

in The Evaluation Society

This chapter, as its title suggests, centers on modernity and its “evaluation imaginary.” It presents an analysis of the society constantly evolving around evaluation and three different outlines of ... More

This chapter, as its title suggests, centers on modernity and its “evaluation imaginary.” It presents an analysis of the society constantly evolving around evaluation and three different outlines of sociohistorical stages of modernity. These stages are the audit society, entitled modernity, and reflexive modernity, and each stage matches different social conditions of evaluation and a certain set of social imaginaries, or patterns of meanings that describe a certain society.Less