The processes of decision making and implementation, including how organizations involved relate to each other.
To gain a thorough understanding of shifts in governance by incorporating insights from various fields such as politics, law, economics, and sociology.
These changes can significantly affect how governance institutions are perceived in terms of their accountability to the public and their legitimacy in exercising authority.
Governance refers to the processes and structures through which organizations and societies manage their affairs, often involving shifts from traditional national political institutions to other levels and sectors.
The common concerns include problems of governability, accountability, and legitimacy that arise from changes in governance structures.
Good governance refers to the effective, accountable, and transparent management of public resources and affairs, often emphasized in the context of economic development by organizations like the World Bank.
The study of governance has seen significant growth, with a marked increase in academic literature and discussions surrounding the concept since the 1990s.
The concept that encompasses the forms and mechanisms by which societal sectors and spheres are governed, including the processes of decision making and implementation.
The process by which established methods of governance are becoming less effective or relevant, leading to the emergence of new governance arrangements.
The extent to which societal institutions and spheres can be effectively steered or managed.
New Public Management (NPM) is a management approach that brings concepts from private business into the public sector, focusing on performance measurement, customer orientation, and restructuring incentives, often facilitated by deregulation, outsourcing, and privatization.
New Public Management (NPM) is a governance approach that seeks to introduce 'good governance' practices into public organizations, similar to those in the corporate sector.
Corporate governance refers to the system of direction and control of business corporations, aimed at improving accountability and transparency of management actions without fundamentally altering the basic structure of firms.
Economic internationalization refers to the process by which national economies become integrated into the global economy, leading to increased trade, investment, and economic interdependence among countries.
'Governing without government' refers to the concept in international relations theory that explores the possibility of governance through international cooperation and global governance without a central authority.
Forms of inter-firm cooperation include contracts, industrial districts, consortia, franchises, equity joint ventures, and other arrangements that connect formally distinct firms.
Networks of private organizations contribute to economic governance by reducing risk and uncertainty in transactions, overcoming collective action problems, and regulating economic sectors through cooperation in resource sharing and innovation.
The information and communication technology revolution has led to less transparent decision-making, making it harder to locate power and identify responsibility, potentially endangering legal certainty and equality.
The primary control mechanism for economic and private organizations, allowing clients, suppliers, workers, and employers to leave if dissatisfied.
Collaborative arrangements between firms that facilitate knowledge sharing and reduce transaction costs, reflecting a shift in private economic governance.
New forms of governance replacing traditional approaches include negotiation, concertation, and the management or manipulation of information in networks.
'Steering' refers to policy decisions that a modern state needs more of, as distinguished from 'rowing', which pertains to service delivery that is needed less.
Scharpf uses the concept of 'network' to specify conditions that reduce transaction costs of negotiations and mitigate the risk of opportunism through mechanisms like the 'shadow of the future' and increased visibility of transactions.
Rosenau defines governance as 'systems of rule, as the purposive activities of any collectivity, that sustain mechanisms designed to ensure its safety, prosperity, coherence, stability, and continuance'.
Examining governance in other disciplines can enrich political science research by providing new perspectives and insights into issues of legitimacy and accountability.
The 'voice option' refers to the mechanisms through which citizens can express their dissatisfaction and seek redress against political and administrative power, typically through institutions like the rule of law, democratic elections, and judicial review.
In complicated networks, governance decisions are increasingly made by a mix of supranational, national, and sub-national actors, making traditional command and control approaches less effective.
Self-organization refers to the capacity of societies and communities to manage common pool resources and prevent their depletion without formal government intervention, relying instead on bottom-up self-governance through associations, informal understandings, and social control.
Elinor Ostrom studied the capacity of communities to manage common pool resources effectively and efficiently without formal government support.
Economic governance refers to the institutions and rules that govern economic transactions, which can include contracts, commercial businesses, and voluntary associations, rather than relying solely on government.
Vertical shift in governance refers to the movement of authority and decision-making from higher levels of government (national and international) to lower levels (sub-national and regional), often in response to the need for local implementation of international regulations.
Juridification is the process by which informal social relations become formalized through legal frameworks, resulting in increased reliance on courts and legal mechanisms to enforce agreements and rights.
Globalization may diminish the effectiveness of national competition authorities in controlling the power of firms, as these firms operate in increasingly globalized markets beyond national jurisdiction.
Changes in the structures and processes of governance that reflect the evolving roles of various actors, including supranational institutions.
Core competencies are the essential activities and capabilities that firms focus on, often leading them to outsource other activities to smaller firms within a network.
'Good governance' in the private sector emphasizes accountability and transparency in management actions, often linked to corporate governance principles established by organizations like the OECD.
Supranational courts, such as the European Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice, are judicial bodies that operate above national jurisdictions, adjudicating disputes and interpreting laws that affect multiple countries.
'Multilevel governance' refers to the concept that governance occurs across different levels of government and involves various actors from public, private, and voluntary sectors, coordinating and allocating resources.
Organizations that operate with some degree of autonomy from the government, often taking on specific functions such as policy making and enforcement for efficiency.
A framework that describes the interdependent relationships between various levels of government and non-governmental actors in policy-making.
Internationalization has heightened competition across sectors, prompting firms to merge or acquire others to secure competitive advantages in larger markets.
Network governance refers to the cooperative relationships among firms, where they engage in enduring partnerships to share resources, particularly knowledge, leading to the formation of complex networks of customers, suppliers, and competitors.
The state-centric or inter-governmentalist school explains European integration as a series of rational choices made by national leaders, viewing the state as a unitary and rational actor in policy coordination between nation-states.
Network governance implies that political actors view problem-solving as central to politics, with policy-making defined by organized social sub-systems, where the state's role shifts from authoritative allocation to that of an activator.
A normative approach that prescribes an ideal as well as an empirical reality in governance practices.
Federalism contributes to governance by distributing power across different levels of government, which can help to check the concentration of power and enhance accountability.
Knowledge has become a critical asset for firms, leading to increased interdependence and the need for collaboration to foster innovation.
EU Member States are classic international actors that must navigate their policy-making capacity in the context of transnational and supranational influences.
Networks in governance are pluricentric forms of governance that involve public and private organizations, characterized by self-organization, resource exchange, negotiations, and game-like interactions rooted in trust.
The OECD promotes good governance by comparing best practices in key areas such as public management, business-government relations, and social policy among advanced economies.
Governance is a broader category than government, encompassing various forms of organization and regulation that occur without direct state involvement.
Legitimacy derived from institutions that 'work', 'perform', and are able to 'deliver the goods'.
Constitutional checks and balances are designed to prevent the arbitrary use of political and administrative power, ensuring that institutions remain accountable to citizens and users of state services.
Collaborative arrangements between businesses that facilitate cooperation and reduce risks in economic governance.
Traditional accountability systems may become obsolete due to shifts in authority and decision-making processes that involve networks of actors across public, semi-public, and private sectors.
A multidisciplinary approach is essential in political science to address the complex issues of governability, accountability, and legitimacy that arise from shifts in governance structures.
Multilevel Governance refers to the involvement of both public and private actors at various levels (European, national, sub-national) in policy-making processes, emphasizing the interconnectedness of different governance levels.
'Second generation reforms' consist of strategies aimed at improving governance, including reducing wasteful public spending, investing in primary health, education, and social protection, and promoting private sector growth through regulatory reforms.
The four conceptual approaches are national policy styles literature, neo-corporatism, neo-institutionalism, and the organization of production.
A major shift from national to European governance has raised legitimacy problems, particularly concerning governance through European policy networks, which has been a concern for multilevel governance theorists.
Independent regulatory agencies, such as the European Central Bank, face questions regarding their independence and accountability, raising concerns about who controls the controllers.
Constitutional courts are specialized judicial bodies that review the constitutionality of laws and government actions, playing a crucial role in upholding constitutional rights and principles within a legal system.
The system by which companies are directed and controlled, emphasizing accountability and transparency.
The central issues include the effectiveness of traditional institutions of checks and balances on power and accountability, which may become obsolete due to shifts in public and private governance.
Input legitimacy implies that a political system and specific policies are legitimated by the rules-of-the-game and the processes by which they have come about, emphasizing the importance of a well-functioning system of political representation.
Governance institutions help reduce risks and uncertainties in inter-firm relations, minimize transaction costs, encourage trust, and facilitate decision-making.
New institutional economics posits that markets are not spontaneous social orders but need to be created and maintained by institutions that provide, monitor, and enforce rules, fix property rights, and protect competition.
The capacity to solve urgent societal problems, often requiring a certain centralization and concentration of political power.
A trend where judicial power has increased globally, allowing individuals and groups more opportunities to influence government actions.
Costs incurred in making an economic exchange, which can increase due to risks such as poaching and opportunism in inter-firm relationships.
The risks include loss of relation-specific investments, free ridership, opportunism, hold-up situations, blackmailing, and spillover effects.
Output legitimacy implies that a political system and specific policies are legitimated by their success, indicating that governability is a precondition for legitimacy.
Public choice theory is one of the inspirations for New Public Management, emphasizing the role of individual choices and incentives in public policy implementation.
Legitimacy resulting from decisions made according to procedures that include minimal forms of accountability, such as the rule of law and democracy.
The practice of public state agencies delegating tasks to private businesses, leading to a reduction in the scope of public sector responsibilities.
The corporate governance literature is concerned with the ongoing shift from shareholder to management control of business firms.
Good economic governance refers to the principles and practices aimed at reducing wasteful public spending, investing in essential services like health and education, promoting the private sector through regulatory reform, and enhancing transparency and accountability in government and corporate affairs.
Self-organizing networks are informal institutional settings that facilitate cooperation among interdependent actors, helping to overcome collective action problems and reduce transaction costs in negotiations.
Policy networks in the EU highlight the importance of organized interactions across various policy areas and government levels, involving both public and private interests in multilateral negotiations.
'Varieties of capitalism' literature emphasizes that countries can perform well with different sets of institutions, even amidst internationalization.
A system developed to control the exercise of power, prevent its abuse, and hold power holders accountable.
A system of committees created to assist and circumvent European institutions, reflecting a shift in governance from traditional branches of government.
Mixed vertical–horizontal shifts refer to changes in governance structures, such as the transition from national public standardization bodies to international private ones, exemplified in sectors like telecommunications.
Benchmarking involves the comparison of information and performance scores, which has gained popularity in both the private and public sectors as a new governance reform.
Actor-centred institutionalism (ACI) analyzes policy networks by combining rational choice theory and new institutionalism to explain policies and their outcomes.
In the context of multilevel governance, 'governance' refers to the power relations established by rules and norms, as well as the substance of policies that emerge from these interactions among various levels of government.
An approach to running public service organizations that emphasizes efficiency, effectiveness, and the use of private sector management techniques.
