ABSTRACT
Whilst throughout the book attention has been given to arguments that the policy process in the modern world needs to be seen as having a complexity to which the label ‘governance’ rather than ‘government’ should be attached, this has not been examined in any detail. This chapter starts by exploring that argument a little more and then proceeds to look at the two main manifestations of the alleged change: inter-organisational complexity within the nation state and changing relationships between states and international organisations which impact upon domestic policy processes. The former phenomenon involves both complex vertical and horizontal relationships between public institutions, and the formation of networks composed by state and private actors (none of these by any means new phenomena, but probably now more important). The latter ranges across various issues: the impact of global institutions, the development of groupings of nations like the European Union and the sharing of common problems across institutional boundaries. The development of global policy-making processes also brings into existence various types of transnational networks.
Much of the literature on governance goes on from the examination of these developments to the exploration of the changing relationship between state and society and the issues that this poses for representative democracy. A final section in the chapter identifies some of these points and indicates their importance for the discussion of accountability and democratic legitimacy in the next chapter.
