Governance: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #333

by Mark Bevir

The word 'governance' is ubiquitous. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund make loans conditional on 'good governance'. Climate change and avian flu appear as issues of 'global governance'. The European Union issues a White Paper on 'Governance'. The U.S. Forest Service calls for 'collaborative governance'. What accounts for the pervasive use of the term 'governance' and to what does it refer? It has a bewildering set of answers. The word 'governance' isused in a variety of contexts, but at a general level, it refers to all forms of social coordination and patterns of rule.In this Very Short Introduction, Mark Bevir considers not only the main theories of governance, but also their impact in a variety of areas including corporate, public, and global affairs.ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Political Science, Reference

147 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 2012

About the author

Professor Mark Bevir is a member of the Department of Political Science at University of California, Berkeley. He was born in London and educated at the University of Exeter, U.K., where he got a BA (1st Class), and the University of Oxford, UK where he was awarded a DPhil. Before moving to Berkeley, he worked at the University of Madras, India, and University of Newcastle, UK. He has held visiting positions in Australia, Finland, France, U.K., and the U.S. Currently he is co-convener of the Interpretive Political Science specialist group of the Political Studies Association and President of the Society for the Philosophy of History.

Reviews

[Bojan Tunguz · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Governance” is one of those phrases that have been featured in the news a lot lately. I most frequently come across it in the context of “corporate governance,” but other usages (public governance, global governance, etc.) have also crept up into my peripheral vision. This word is for the most part pretty self-explanatory, but I wanted to get a bit more of the sense of its overall meaning. So this is one of the main motives behind my decision to read “Governance: A Very Short Introduction.” The book indeed covers this subject relatively thoroughly, but it also leaves something to be desired.

One of this short book’s main theses is that the reason we hear more about governance these days is that the word “government,” with all its implications, has become decidedly less popular. As the popularity of big centralized governing and planning institutions wanes, the process of governing is becoming more and more diffused. Even within any single institution, the decision-making has become more devolved and collegial, as opposed to centralized and hierarchical. This book gives some really interesting examples from the real world and from the recent developments that illustrate various points that the author is trying to make.

Unfortunately, after reading this book I am nowhere closer to understanding what governance really is, how can it be measured, and particularly how can we determine if any given institution is engaging in “good governance” practices. The book is much more discursive and descriptive, and in many ways it reads like a contemporary history book. Furthermore, I also think that many of its points could have been stated much more succinctly.

This is a decent enough book on its subject matter, but I would not recommend it to anyone who is interested in getting a very concrete and practical understanding of governance. I am not sure if such a book exists, but if does I would certainly like to take a look at it.

[Serge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Bevir's governance typology of hierarchies, markets, and networks very useful. I can see immediate applications to our contemporary political polarization with respect to the role of government. In particular the three cultures of governance (subordination, competition and reciprocity) explain some of the success of disinformation campaigns in social media. Ideological predispositions make one increasingly vulnerable to algorithmic micro-nudges.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The political scientist Mark Bevir published Governance: A Very Short Introduction in 2012. Bevir writes, “Governance refers to all the processes of governing. Governance differs from government in that it focuses less on the state and its institutions” (Bevir 1). Bevir writes that governance can be “undertaken by a government, market, or network, whether over a family, tribe, formal or informal organization, or territory, and whether through laws, norms, power, or language” (Bevir 1). I read the book on my Kindle. Governance focuses more on the study of “social practices and activities” (Bevir 1). Bevir writes, “To understand governance requires that we look at abstract theories of hierarchy, market, and network as types of organizations. Then at more concrete debates about the shift from hierarchy to markets and networks” (Bevir 1). The book looks at these different organizational structures “in corporations, the public sector, and global politics” (Bevir 1). Chapter 6 is on “good governance” (Bevir 101-120). This chapter looks at the history of the concept of “good governance” (Bevir 101-108). The chapter then looks at “more collaborative and participatory forms of governance” (Bevir 101). Each chapter has a case study that illustrates the concept in the chapter. The book has an index and illustrations. The book has a section entitled “further reading” (Bevir 121-126). Mark Bevir’s book is a well-done introduction to the concept of Governance.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a way of understanding the concept of governance better for a course on global governance. While this book does offer a starting point for understanding governance, I still feel like my knowledge of the subject is lacking, even after reading this book and taking a course on the subject. I do not think that I could adequately define the term “governance” if I were requested to do so. Although, this book did a better job of offering a definition of global governance than my university level course did. More detail is definitely needed in future versions of this work.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, very high level overview of governance topics. Not enough depth to really understand anything, but not a bad place to start if you're then going to go on and read a bunch of more detailed papers.

[Gadi Nissim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Loved the book. It offers an encompassing overview of the field together with the writer's opinion. the author is fair enough to let us understand where the line between the two lies. It is also well written.

[Waris Ahmad Faizi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful!!!
A very nicely written book for those who want to get the basic and fundamental idea regarding good governance, its principles and criteria, and democracy.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too high-level to be useful. Also, I was much happier before I knew that the phrase "stakeholder theory" exists.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 45 of 2024. This I had to read for class. But I found it interesting and good at making a rather broad, amorphous concept something that could be dissected and analyzed.

[Hurrara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provided a broad overview of the field of governance, albeit pervaded by Mark Bevir's own ideas about interpretivism and rejection of modernist social science.