Governance as theory: five propositions

Abstract

The governance debate is wide-ranging and complex. The aim of this article is to bring order to the debate by concentrating on how the rise of governance challenges many of the more traditional notions of public administration. Governance is about new methods and forms in governing and ultimately is about a change in the meaning of government. This article argues that a governance perspective provides an organizing framework for understanding the changing processes of governing. Five propositions and associated dilemmas are examined. Governance involves: multi-agency partnerships, a blurring of responsibilities between public and non-public sectors, a power dependence between organizations involved in collective action, the emergence of self-governing networks and the development of new governmental tasks and tools. The key dilemmas of governance are: its weak normative underpinnings, a tendency to facilitate blame avoidance and scapegoating, the proliferation of unintended consequences and inadequate accountability mechanisms. In the light of such factors analysts and practitioners should consider the prospect of governance failure. Governance represents a positive attempt to tackle social and economic challenges in innovative ways but it should not be seen as a panacea. This article draws on insights from the UK Economic and Social Research Council's Local Governance Programme. © UNESCO 1998.