The asymmetric power model 20 years on

Abstract

Abstract It is over 20 years since the publication of the Asymmetric Power Model (APM). In the ensuing period, Britain has faced multiple challenges: the increasing fragmentation of public services; austerity politics; devolution; and, most recently, coronavirus disease and Brexit. It is this backdrop which provides the context to this article. First, it addresses how the literature has subsequently evolved. It then examines what has changed over the last two decades while also emphasizing what remains the same. Here, we highlight issues regarding both increased inequality and instability, focusing particularly on tension emerging from a de-centralizing-recentralizing approach to governance. The article concludes by offering a revised APM as a means of understanding British politics moving forward.