Governing beyond command and control: A responsive and nodal approach to child protection

Abstract

This chapter is interested in the challenge of governing beyond crime, surveillance and control. It argues for the need to re-imagine the governance of security in ways designed to both build and enrol the capacities of different actors. The authors draw on regulatory theory and the ideas developed in the areas of ‘responsive regulation’ and ‘nodal governance’ to explore the opportunities for, and the challenges associated with designing governance institutions and processes that serve to de-centre hierarchy, command and interventionism as essential rationalities and practices. Its empirical focus is on the case of child protection, where the authors argue for the importance of nurturing the capacities of families and communities to govern both beyond and in tandem with hierarchical modalities. It is hoped that the theoretical issues raised and the agenda articulated can be engaged with across a variety of empirical domains.

Citation

Harris, N. and Wood, J. (2008), "Governing beyond command and control: A responsive and nodal approach to child protection", Deflem, M. and Ulmer, J.T. (Ed.) Surveillance and Governance: Crime Control and Beyond (Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Vol. 10), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 327-344. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1521-6136(07)00215-1