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Understanding Narratives in Governance: Naming and Framing Regional Inequality in the United Kingdom

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  • Tamás Kaiser

    (Department of Governance and Public Policy, Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies, University of Public Service, 1083 Budapest, Hungary)

Abstract

Narratives play a pivotal role in solving complex problems, as they provide an interpretive framework for facilitating the solution to a given challenge. We presume that if the basis of a narrative applied to a complex problem is incorrect, the interpretation of the problem will also be distorted. Therefore, solutions that are primarily low-efficiency in nature demand new or “rframed” narratives. We examine this premise through the case of the United Kingdom in the light of changes in narratives created to solve regional inequalities, particularly regarding the interpretative framework of the “Levelling Up” policy agenda and narrative, which was introduced by the government of Boris Johnson. Additionally, we conducted a literature review on the Levelling Up policy to provide a supplementary theoretical background beyond the concept of narratives. Conclusions on narratives and Levelling Up are also outlined.

Suggested Citation

  • Tamás Kaiser, 2023. "Understanding Narratives in Governance: Naming and Framing Regional Inequality in the United Kingdom," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-16, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:246-:d:1127069
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. World Bank, 2009. "Geography in Motion: World Development Report 2009 (excerpt)," Transnational Corporations Review, Ottawa United Learning Academy, vol. 1(3), pages 40-46, September.
    5. Paul Collier & David Tuckett, 2021. "Narratives as a coordinating device for reversing regional disequilibrium," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 37(1), pages 97-112.
    6. Vivien Lowndes & Alison Gardner, 2016. "Local governance under the Conservatives: super-austerity, devolution and the ‘smarter state’," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 357-375, May.
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