Concept and origins
Burnham (2001), analysing New Labour's transfer of interest-rate decisions to the Bank of England, argued that placing hard choices outside politics is itself a political governing strategy: governments push policies as unavoidable and reduce their responsibility for bad outcomes, similar to blame avoidance.
Types
Flinders and Buller (2006) identified three types: institutional depoliticisation, delegating to bodies such as an independent central bank; rule-based depoliticisation, such as fiscal rules and inflation targets; and preference-shaping depoliticisation, where discourse such as 'globalisation leaves no alternative' removes options. It overlaps with technocracy.
Implications for democracy
Hay (2007) argued it fuels disaffection by implying politics changes nothing, and Mair (2013) warned of a hollowed democracy. Wood and Flinders (2014) extended the concept beyond government, Jessop (2014) analysed depoliticisation and repoliticisation in debt crises, and Hay (2014) urged treating it as a process. It is closely tied to the spread of neoliberal reforms.
FAQ
- What is depoliticization in simple terms?
- Governments hand key decisions to independent bodies or fixed rules, taking them out of political debate.
- Is depoliticization bad?
- It can improve expertise and consistency, but critics say it narrows citizens' choices and blurs accountability.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Burnham, P. (2001). New Labour and the politics of depoliticisation. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 3(2), 127–149. Defines depoliticisation as a governing strategy.
- Flinders, M., & Buller, J. (2006). Depoliticisation: Principles, tactics and tools. British Politics, 1(3), 293–318. Three types: institutional, rule-based and preference-shaping.
- Hay, C. (2007). Why we hate politics. Polity Press. Links depoliticisation to political disaffection.
- Mair, P. (2013). Ruling the void: The hollowing of Western democracy. Verso. The hollowing of party democracy.
- Wood, M., & Flinders, M. (2014). Rethinking depoliticisation: Beyond the governmental. Policy & Politics, 42(2), 151–170. Extends the concept beyond government.
- Jessop, B. (2014). Repoliticising depoliticisation: Theoretical preliminaries on some responses to the American fiscal and Eurozone debt crises. Policy & Politics, 42(2), 207–223. Depoliticisation and repoliticisation in debt crises.
- Hay, C. (2014). Depoliticisation as process, governance as practice: What did the 'first wave' get wrong and do we need a 'second wave' to put it right? Policy & Politics, 42(2), 293–311. A critical review of depoliticisation research.