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The UK BSE crisis as a failure of government

November 18, 2004

Roman Gerodimos considers the BSE ('mad cow disease') disaster to highlight the failings of the British core executive during a crisis event.

The BSE case is unique from other policy failures in that it was not a policy that was being set up and pursued by the government itself. The initial appearance of BSE could not have been predicted by the government of the day. This raises questions about the ability of the system to handle crises generated not by a specific government initiative, but by external/environmental factors. In a paper published in Public Administration, Gerodimus uses evidence from the Philips Inquiry, which reported on the BSE/vCJD crisis in 2000, to analyse the patterns of decision making and the structures of institutional and resource dependence.

During the last two decades radical changes have taken place at the heart of the British executive. These reforms were introduced in order to enhance effectiveness and tackle past problems in policy-making and implementation. Yet, these reforms have sought to diminish the centre's responsibility for managing public policy without putting an effective alternative mechanism in place.

Reforms that took place after BSE are nothing close to what is needed in order to avoid a similar catastrophe - as other recent disasters, such as the recent foot-and-mouth crisis, have demonstrated.

Gerodimos' paper reveals a consistent effort to strip responsibilities from government, combined with a long-term, strategic undermining of the public's trust in the system's ability to manage public policy. As a result, policy failures and disasters, such as BSE, have rebounded on the government and are feeding the vicious circle of ineffectiveness. He concludes that unless measures are taken to reverse the downward trend in crisis planning and government responsibility, accountability and effectiveness, new disasters will happen and public disaffection with the entire system will continue to grow.

Blackwell Publishing Ltd

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