Negotiating the narrow road between institutionalism and non-foundationalism, and the difference it makes

This paper welcomes Bevir’s Democratic Governance, applauding especially its theoretical coherence and sophistication, and its conclusion that we need a more dialogic, diverse notion of democracy. However, it also raises concerns regarding Bevir’s decentred approach to the state and his non-foundationalism. In the former case it suggests that the demise of the role of the state has been over-estimated, especially in the wake of the financial crisis. In the latter case, it claims that to understand the problems public services face, it is often necessary to embrace a materiality that non-foundationalism finds it hard to accommodate. The paper illustrates concerns by showing how these combined in the development of Labour policy in the UK between 1997 and 2010 o produce an account that has a very different emphasis to Bevir’s.