Assessing ‘good governance’:‘scientific’ measurement and political discourse

Abstract

The idea of governance – as distinct from government – has become intellectually fashionable in academic circles over the past decade or so, constituting a new conceptual paradigm that embodies ideas about the dispersal and fragmentation of formerly centralised state authority, the increasing involvement of civil society in the delivery of public goods and services, and the networked collaboration of a wide range of governmental and nongovernmental bodies in the pursuit of public purposes and the public interest.