Repositioning Governance Debates in Development: A Pluralistic Consideration

Abstract

The advocates of governance argue that the heavy workload on the government was responsible for their inability to resolve all the tasks and demands placed upon them by the citizenry (Pierre and Peters, 2000). Nevertheless, Bonfiglioli’s (2003) and Morvaridi (2008) argues  that unequal power relations (inequality) between the privileged and  less powerful actors make the analysis of governance very critical at the local level.

Following from the foregoing analysis, this paper critically investigates the place of governance discourse in development. The paper draws on pluralistic literature to illuminate fundamental strategies for repositioning governance debates in development. In doing so, the paper justifies the case for governance as a strategy for addressing the salient societal problems affecting social, economic and political lives. The paper also engages the literature to unveil the increasing discourse and contest that have shaped the boundaries of governance concept (Huque and Zafarullah, 2006:5). Besides, the paper questions the global institutions concept of governance in order to unravel the technocratic interpretation that has shaped the global institutions’ concept of governance.

The paper discovers that governance has a diverse usage and application beyond the practice of government. The paper also reveals that beyond politics and international relations, governance has also gained wider currency in areas including: corporate institutions, economics, management, and steering and relationship management, among others.

The main contribution of this paper to knowledge is that it has engaged with multiple debates in governance taking it beyond the practice of government to broader level of partnerships, networks, relationships and multiple spheres within which governance takes place (Dean, 1999; Agrawal, 2005). This has enhanced our understanding about various interpretations which have shaped governance debates in theory and practice.

Keywords: Governance, Globalization, Inequality, Institutions, Power.

JEL Classification Codes: B25, F02, G30, I32, P16.