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The word "governance" can mean different things to different people. From the point of view of political science, "governance" can be said to be the result of public sector reform. For international relations, "governance" implies doubt on the ability of states to exercise control in their respective territories. And for comparative politics, "governance" compares different policies in terms of interactions between the state and the society.
For public management, governance means changing role of government organisations, a shift from top-down "government" to polycentric "governance". Governance implies that government organisations are not the only entity to govern, and public and private institutions outside the government are also included. It also implies an interactive, collaborative, negotiative and plural network of relationship between different stakeholders, who are jointly responsible for the common good of the society.
Jon Pierre and B. Guy Peters set up three different scenarios in governance, including "reasserting control" by the state to realise globalisation, deregulation, privatisation and decentralisation; "letting others rule" in which the state consciously allows sub-national and international organisations to play increasingly important roles in day-to-day matters, while the states influences global governance particularly to protect their own economic interests; "communitarianism, deliberative democracy and direct democracy" by deinstitutionalising existing government structure to make way for more participative policy-making among the population.
Community governance is heavily dependent on a social network between the government, enterprises and civic organisations at the community level. Through direct and broad participation by members of the community, public policy-making and provision of public services directly related to their lives are resolved. This implies the need for autonomous decision-making powers in public affairs among local government and civic organisations.
Whilst government organisations should promote and protect local governance under this model, the collaboration between the government, the private sector and civic organisation also laid foundation for polycentric governance.
Although the concept of "governance" helps avoiding failure by states in allocating resources, it does not mean that the concept is flawless. Governance cannot replace the role of states in enjoying the power of political enforcement, and cannot replace markets to allocate resources effectively. Governance is only a supplement to state and market interventions.
An effective governance mechanism can only be established if states and markets are efficient. The flaws of governance then give birth to the concept of "good governance," of which the Chinese academic Yu Keping gives ten characteristics. They include the legitimacy of the authority, the rule of law as the supreme guide to public and political management as well as the guarantee of freedom and rights of citizens, transparency of government information, accountability of managers and institutions, responsiveness, effectiveness in terms of organising structure and cost, civic participation or engagement with willingness of both the state and citizens to decentralise and collaborate, stability in politics, economy and the lives of citizens, cleanliness among officials, and justice among different sexes, classes, races, cultures, religions and ideologies.
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Chan U Chan
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