Institutional crisis in 21st-century Britain

In The 21st Century, A Perfect Storm Appears To Have Engulfed Many Of Britain's Most Important Institutions. The List Of Those It Has Enveloped Is Extensive, But Headline Acts Would Include - The Banking Sector For Malpractice, Parliament For Its Expenses Scandal, The Media For Phone-hacking And The Police For Duplicity And Corruption. It Raises A Fundamental Question Of Whether There Is An Endemic And Fundamental Crisis In British Political, Economic And Social Institutions Or Instead Simply A Set Of Contingent Events That Have Been Discursively Constructed And Presented As A Collective Crisis. This Volume Offer The First Major, Wholesale Consideration Of The Extent To Which A Crisis Of Legitimacy Has Taken Root In Britain's Key Institutions. It Does So By Exploring The Nature Of Crisis Across A Diverse Range Of Institutions, Assessing The Accuracy Of The 'crisis' Label And Crucially Considers Whether A Set Of Shared Underlying Pathologies Exist That Has Led To A Point Of Collective Crisis And The Need For Fundamental Renewal. 1. Introduction: A Crisis In Uk Institutions