Policy Alienation and the Power of Professionals

Confronting New Policies

Lars Tummers, Associate Professor, Utrecht University School of Governance, the Netherlands

This eloquent book by Lars Tummers develops a framework to understand these important issues with policy implementation, using the innovative concept of ‘policy alienation’. Policies in healthcare, social security, and education are analyzed. The conclusions challenge the common assertions regarding the reasons why professionals resist policies. For instance, the impact of professional influence, often viewed as an end in itself, is nuanced. Lars Tummers reveals that it is far more important for professionals that a policy is meaningful for society and for their clients, than they have an influence in its shaping.

“这不仅贡献的工作tes to tackling the intellectual hegemony of public choice theories regarding organisational change in the public sector but can also be used in the debates on the application of business-like values in higher education. . . Tummers’ “policy alienation” concept is not only a significant academic contribution, but can also be used as a powerful instrument in a number of important debates regarding the organization of public services.’
– LSE Review of Books

‘Tummers’ book resurfaces alienation as an established and useful concept, but also as a forgotten and ignored reality. Shifts in policies affect the meaning of these policies, and reforms affect power balances. The analyses in this book are crucial to help understand why policies fail and why there is resistance to change. Tummers coins “policy alienation” as an increasingly indispensable concept. Reforms would have been different if Tummers’ analysis on powerlessness and meaninglessness was more taken into account.’
– Geert Bouckaert, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium and former President of the European Group for Public Administration

‘Lars Tummers has written a must-read book! While systemic changes ushered in by market-oriented reforms have received attention, little is known about the plight of the individual in modern bureaucracies. Tummers presents a masterful and authoritative account of policy alienation that public service professionals experience. The breadth and depth of Tummers’s scholarship is impressive! This book has something of value for everyone from the casual reader to public management scholar.’
– Sanjay K. Pandey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark US

‘Why do public sector professionals resist change? Tummers offers a compelling account of the alienation of professionals following new public management reforms. This timely and methodologically innovative book shows public managers how to implement organisational change, and provides scholars with a set of new measurement scales. Policy Alienation and the Power of Professionals is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how professional organisations operate, and why professionals resist some changes, while embracing others.’
– Steven Van de Walle, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands

‘This book is a good read for academics and policy makers wishing to understand how professionals operate, and why new policies are sometimes met with resistance at the implementation stage. It stands as an important piece of research which adds substantially to the field and which future scholars can advance.’
– Leanne-Marie Cotter, Public Administration