New Governance, New Democracy?: Post-Devolution Wales

The creation of the National Assembly for Wales has altered the democratic landscape in Wales. In assuming many policy and administrative responsibilities previously held by central government, the Assembly promises innovation in governance and there are high expectations that devolution will bring about significant improvements in Welsh life.
New Governance - New Democracy? questions whether these expectations are likely to be fulfilled. Drawing on interviews with many of the people who have influenced the devolution experiment, from politicians to ordinary citizens, this book brings together five research projects based throughout Wales which focus on different aspects of the devolutionary process.
This engagement with issues of both immediate and enduring significance for Wales offers interdisciplinary discussion and analysis of issues ranging from electoral turnout, participation and legitimacy to the involvement of marginalized groups in the process of government. It also examines the developing relationship between the new Welsh legislature and the voluntary sector, the governance of economic development and the regulation and political control of public agencies in Wales. New Governance - New Democracy? constitutes the first serious project-based assessment of whether the National Assembly will lead to a better democracy for Wales.

Paul Chaney is senior lecturer in public policy at Cardiff University. He has published widely on territorial politics, social policy, and equality and human rights.