GIGW-C1: What is Governance? §

Class: IS402 Created Time: September 22, 2021 1:29 PM Database: Class Notes Database Last Edited Time: March 20, 2022 10:56 PM Type: Lecture, Presentation Notes

Governance §

• History of Governance:
  • Greek Verb: κυβερνάω [kybernáo] = to steer, to guide, to maneuver (the metaphorical sense first being attested in Plato)
  • Redefined as recently as the 1990s by economists and political scientists
  • Disseminated by institutions such as UN, WB & IMF
• What is governance?
  • The exercise of economic, political, and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels.
  • It comprises mechanisms, processes, and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations, and mediate their difference.”
  • How a activity of a country is conducted and managed domestically
  – UNDP.

Governance vs Government §

• What’s the difference between governance and government? are they separate?
  • Both requires authority to operate
  • There is world governance, but we don’t have world government
  • Governance’s authority does not necessarily come from organs of government, while government does
    • Public institutional, private institution, corporations
    • Decentralization, not centralization
  • Power runs in different directions in management processes.
    • Government: Unidirectional & top-down
      • President/PM → Cabinet → Parliament → Ministers → Public etc…
    • Governance: Multi-directional & two-way (example?)
      • Body of governance manage actions of the state through cooperation based on market principle, negotiation, common goals among themselves
      • Doesn’t rely on authority of government, rely on authority of its co-worker bodies
      • Boss (Government) vs Manager (Governance)

Good Governance §

• What is ‘Good Governance’?

  • The mechanisms through which a Democracy is practicing and improving its good civil rights, transparency, rule of law, efficient public services…

• 6 essentials of good governance

  • Legitimacy: legitimately elected, recognition by domestic and international actors
  • Transparency: keeping the process of governance to be seen by everyone?
  • Accountability: take responsibility for mistakes and repay for damages
  • Rule of Law: abide by the constitution, international laws, and good faith, same as citizens
  • Responsiveness: the quickness of addressing issues in society
  • Effectiveness: the success rate of issues they deal with

  Elaborations in text book

• Good Governance of Cambodia through the Rectangle Plan

Stakeholders in Governance §

• Who has influence in governance? (stakeholders and actors)

Typical Governance arrangement

Military has bigger role in governance (Ex: Myanmar)

• Military covers some of
  • Private sectors because some are state-run media/businesses, some are private media
  • Government: military officials are represented through the government
  • Some Civil Society: is controlled/influenced by military

Use of Governance §

• How is Governance used?
  • Level of Governance (type of orgs)
    • Public, Global, Non-profit, Corporate, & Project
  • Field of Governance (type of activity/outcome)
    • Environmental, Internet, & Info Technology
  • Model of Governance (empirical/normative theory)
    • Regulatory, Participatory, Multilevel, Meta-governance, & Collaborative

Normative Theory §

• Governance as a normative concept
  • Fair Governance: Mechanisms function in a way that allows the executives (the agents) to respect the rights and interests of the stakeholders (the participants), in a spirit of democracy.
  • Good Governance: “Process of interactions and decision-making among the actors involved in a collective problem, that lead to the creation, reinforcement or reproduction of social norms and institutions” – the Governance Analytical Framework (GFA).
    • 5 Analytical tools: problems, actors, social norms, processes & nodal points
  • Measuring Governance
    • External Assessment: non-state/government, civil society, int’ org assessing or auditing the governance
    • Peer Assessment: other governing actors to assess another part
    • Self-assessment: periodic checkup and assessment themselves
    • How to measure good governance?