The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant examines what it means to be a public servant in today’s world(s) where globalisation and neoliberalism have proliferated the number of actors who contribute to the public purpose sector and created new spaces that public servants now operate in. It considers how different scholarly approaches can contribute to a better understanding of the identities, motivations, values, roles, skills, positions and futures for the public servant, and how scholarly knowledge can be informed by and translated into value for practice. The book combines academic contributions with those from practitioners so that key lessons may be synthesised and translated into the context of the public servant.

This book examines user and community co-production of public services and outcomes, currently one of the most discussed topics in the field of public management and policy. It considers co-production in a wide range of public services, with particular emphasis on health, social care and community safety, illustrated through international case studies in many of the chapters. This book draws on both quantitative and qualitative empirical research studies on co-production, and on the Governance International database of more than 70 international co-production case studies, most of which have been republished by the OECD. Academically rigorous and systematically evidence-based, the book incorporates many insights which have arisen from the extensive range of research projects and executive training programmes in co-production undertaken by the author. Written in a style which is easy and enjoyable to read, the book gives readers, both academics and practitioners, the opportunity to develop a creative understanding of the essence and implications of co-production.

This open access handbook, the first of its kind, provides a comprehensive and carefully curated multidisciplinary and genre-spanning view of the state of the field of Critical Menstruation Studies, opening up new directions in research and advocacy. It is animated by the central question: ‘“what new lines of inquiry are possible when we center our attention on menstrual health and politics across the life course?” The chapters—diverse in content, form and perspective—establish Critical Menstruation Studies as a potent lens that reveals, complicates and unpacks inequalities across biological, social, cultural and historical dimensions. This handbook is an unmatched resource for researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and activists new to and already familiar with the field as it rapidly develops and expands.

This handbook is the only major survey of critical theory from philosophical, political, sociological, psychological and historical vantage points. It emphasizes not only on the historical and philosophical roots of critical theory, but also its current themes and trends as well as future applications and directions. It addresses specific areas of interest that have forged the critical theory tradition, such as critical social psychology, aesthetics and the critique of culture, communicative action, and the critique of instrumental reason. It is intended for those interested in exploring the influential paradigm of critical theory from multiple, interdisciplinary perspectives and understanding its contribution to the humanities and the social sciences.

The Palgrave Handbook of Global Perspectives on Emotional Labor in Public Service challenges traditional public administration theory and its disavowal of the emotive component to public service delivery. Providing a comprehensive and comparative overview of the current research in this previously understudied area, this handbook situates emotional labor within public service and establishes emotional labor within individual, organizational, cultural, and situational scenarios. With chapters spanning twelve different countries across six continents, this handbook provides groundbreaking survey research that probes the daily work experience of public servants, paying special attention to the relational aspect of public service delivery. It ultimately seeks to revise the current public service paradigm, and will be an invaluable resource to researchers, public managers, and international public service organizations as the first of its kind for the public administration market.

The Palgrave Handbook of Global Perspectives on Emotional Labor in Public Service challenges traditional public administration theory and its disavowal of the emotive component to public service delivery. Providing a comprehensive and comparative overview of the current research in this previously understudied area, this handbook situates emotional labor within public service and establishes emotional labor within individual, organizational, cultural, and situational scenarios. With chapters spanning twelve different countries across six continents, this handbook provides groundbreaking survey research that probes the daily work experience of public servants, paying special attention to the relational aspect of public service delivery. It ultimately seeks to revise the current public service paradigm, and will be an invaluable resource to researchers, public managers, and international public service organizations as the first of its kind for the public administration market.