ABSTRACT
The issue of governance – and particularly that of good governance – has for some time now dominated the research and practice agenda in contemporary development management. The momentum for rethinking the traditional mores of civil administration and public policy mechanisms has thrown up ‘governance’ as a conceptual as well as an analytical tool in viewing how governments go about managing their economies, societies and polities. Governance is the power, influence, and relationship between governments and citizens that is utilised to implement social and economic programs. The Clinton Administration’s “reinvention exercises” are clear manifestations of the United States’ commitment to a new type of governance even in a developed country setting. The overarching theme of governance and civil society that this book dwells on is encapsulated in Peter Evans’ piece on how formal bureaucratic organisations of the state can work with local communities in a synergistic fashion to achieve developmental goals.
