ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the different meanings that are commonly attributed to the 'governance' concept in public administration and examines the historical backgrounds that possibly account for the emergence of governance in the public sector. It also explores the practical implications of 'governance' by elaborating on the changes in processes of policy, politics and government that might be labeled as 'governance practices'. Finally, it focuses on the potential impact of these varying governance practices on democracy. The persistence of crime, unemployment, poverty, and hunger in large parts of the world, created doubts about the problem-solving capacity of local, regional, national and supranational governmental institutions. More specifically, we can identify five 'crises of the state' that have contributed to the emergence of the governance paradigm: a financial crisis, a regulatory crisis, a rationality crisis, an implementation crisis, and a complexity crisis.
