ABSTRACT
If the study of central-local relations in Britain has been preoccupied with the detailed description of a narrow range of topics and has demonstrated a marked aversion for theory; if recent theories of advanced industrial society are at a level of generality which does not admit of easy application to the study of facets of British government, the problem to be confronted in the following chapters can be succinctly stated. How can these two levels of analysis be reconciled? In the next two chapters, the literature on interorganizational analysis and intergovernmental relations will be exam ined to see if they are capable of effecting such a reconciliation and what light they can shed on the ‘forgotten dimensions’ of intergovernmental relations. Before turning to these particular tasks, however, one preliminary issue must be dealt with. What is the justification for applying theories developed by different disciplines and in different governmental contexts to the study of British government?
