Los, Greg (2026) Power, morality, and policy: a comparative analysis of approaches to Novel Psychoactive Substances in Britain and Poland. Drugs, Habits and Social Policy. pp. 1-17. ISSN 2752-6739

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Abstract

Background:
Comparative Policy Analysis (CPA) has become a popular tool for comparing policy developments and outcomes in different contexts. This paper compares policy responses to Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in two cases, Poland and Britain.

Methods:
Drawing on frameworks from Habermas, Stevens and Zampini, this paper compares NPS policy developments in both countries, focusing on the roles of morality and power. The analysis is based on 33 qualitative interviews with senior police officers, academics, ministers, NGO workers, and other relevant stakeholders.

Results:
The analysis shows a clash between actors and organisations with contrasting normative understandings of NPS in Poland and Britain, including those who favoured prohibition and those who sought to use the NPS ‘crisis’ as an opportunity to reform existing drug policies. Most notably, it shows differences in how power was deployed in each case, with Polish stakeholders tending to use institutional and legal power in a more open and direct way.

Conclusions:
The more mediated and ‘covert’ use of power in Britain may be partly shaped by longer traditions of the public sphere and democratic governance.

Item Type:	Article
Identifier:	10.1108/DHS-06-2025-0031
Keywords:	Poland, Britain, Policy Constellations, Public Sphere, NPS
Date Deposited:	20 Apr 2026
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/14894

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