ABSTRACT
Today, governance networks proliferate to an astonishing extent within different countries, policy areas and levels of governance. Although traditional forms of top-down government are still in place, policy making and public governance increasingly take place in and through pluricentric negotiations between public and private actors who are interacting on the basis of interdependency, trust and jointly developed rules, norms and discourses. The surge of governance networks has been prompted by the persistent critique of the traditional forms of governance in terms of hierarchy and market for being too inflexible and reactive, respectively. Hence, important organizations such as the World Bank, the European Union, multinational corporations, private think tanks and national governments tend to recommend the formation and use of partnerships, strategic alliances and interorganizational networks, which are seen as the keys to a more flexible and proactive governance.
