Governance and the management of networks in the public sector: Drugs policy in the United Kingdom and the case of cannabis reclassification

This essay utilizes policy network analysis to examine UK drugs policy within the wider context of the government's approach to joined-up governance. While confronting the definitional problems and limitations associated with the policy network concept, it is assumed that multiple agencies work towards pre-determined policy objectives. In particular, Atkinson and Coleman (1992) challenge three aspects of policy network analysis; the macro-political context, the international dimension of many policy domains, and the dynamics of political change. These aspects are addressed through the case of drug policy in the United Kingdom in general, and the decision to reclassify cannabis in particular. In addition, it is suggested that the analysis of networks requires a systemic approach to understanding how the duality of power and knowledge determines the dynamics of networks and their impact on institutional change. This includes an assessment of the consequences of the managerialist discourse surrounding changes to drug policy.