Local states of emergency: the contradictions of neo-liberal governance in education in New Zealand

Susan Robertson, Roger Dale

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

66 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In the present paper, we argue that neo-liberal governance regimes are deeply contradictory and that these contradictions are increasingly evident within the education sector. Drawing on a case study of the consequences restructuring in education in New Zealand, arguably a paradigm case of neo-liberal governance, we suggest the state is faced with a dilemma about how best to manage these tensions and contradictions within the framework of the political rafionality itself. One strategy is to isolate and localise these problems in order to contain and manage the risks associated with them. We identify five variants we argue can broadly be viewed as local states of emergency.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)463-482
Number of pages20
JournalBritish Journal of Sociology of Education
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2002
Externally publishedYes

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