Good governance is an indefinite term used in the international development literature to illustrate how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. Governance is "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)". The term governance can be applied to corporate governance, international, national, local or inter-community interaction.
The concept of "good governance" often appears as a model for comparing ineffective economies or political bodies with economies and active political bodies. This concept focuses on the responsibility of government and regulatory bodies to meet the needs of the masses compared to certain groups in society. Because countries often described as "most successful" are Western liberal democracies, concentrated in Europe and America, good governance standards often measure other state institutions against these countries. Relief organizations and developed country authorities will often focus on the meaning of "good governance" for a set of requirements that fit the organizational agenda, making "good governance" imply many different things in many different contexts.
Video Good governance
Good governance in international affairs (IR)
In international affairs, a good governance analysis can look at one of the following relationships:
- between government and market
- between government and citizens
- between government and private or voluntary sectors
- between elected officials and designated officials
- between government and CSO
Different types of comparisons consisting of governance analysis in scholastic and practical discussions can cause the meaning of "good governance" to vary greatly from practitioner to practitioner.
Maps Good governance
Good governance in the corporate sector
In corporate matters, good governance can be observed in one of the following relationships:
- between corporate governance and management
- between governance and employee standards
- between government and workplace corruption
The meaning of good governance in terms of the corporate sector varies among actors. Legislation has been enacted in an attempt to influence good governance in corporate affairs. In the United States, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 sets out requirements for business to follow. Whistleblowing has also been widely used by companies to expose corruption and fraudulent activities.
Good governance in national government
Good governance in the context of the state is a broad term, and in that case, it is difficult to find a unique definition. According Fukuyama (2013), there are two dimensions to qualify government as good or bad: the capacity of the state and the autonomy of the bureaucracy. Both are complementary, in the sense that when the state is more capable, for example through tax collection, there must be more autonomy because bureaucrats are able to do things well without being instructed with many details. In less fortunate countries, however, less wisdom and rule setting are desired.
Another way to think about good governance is through results. As the government carries out with goals such as the provision of public goods to its citizens, there is no better way to think of good governance than through shipping, which is precisely the demands of citizens, such as security, health, education, water, contract enforcement, property, protection of the environment and their ability to choose and receive a fair wage.
Similarly, good governance may be approached by efficient delivery of public services, higher participation is given to certain groups in populations such as the poor and minority, the assurance that citizens have the opportunity of checks and balances against the government, the establishment and enforcement of norms for protection of citizens and their property and the existence of an independent judicial system.
Lawson (2011) in his review of Rothstein's book "The quality of governance: corruption, social trust, and inequality in an international perspective" mentions that authors linked good governance with the concept of impartiality, essentially when bureaucrats perform tasks that follow the public interest rather than interests themselves. Lawson contrasts with him that the imposition of this impartial law ignores important factors such as economic liberalism, which is important because of its relation to economic growth.
It is important to distinguish good governance from other seemingly similar concepts, such as development and economic growth. Rather than assuming them to be the same, many experts refer to them as features that may be related in different ways. In fact, the interest that the author gives to good governance is due to its impact on economic development and growth.
According to Grindle (2004), the relevance of getting good governance comes from its relationship to the development of a country and poverty reduction. Setting the agenda to achieve good governance is of great interest but also a complex task, which makes this author propose a "good enough government" agenda as a starting point. In developing this "simple" agenda, the idea is to review past successful policies, strategically prioritize them, consider policies with greater impact on reducing poverty and achieving development, and finding innovative ways to implement policies.
In terms of economic growth, there are some authors who connect these variables with good governance, but in the sense of "related to" rather than "being part of". In other words, scholars have been attracted by the relationship between good governance and economic or political development. Grindle (2007) says there are many links between good governance indicators and economic growth, but they are difficult to quantify and even more difficult to associate as causal. Nevertheless, he mentions the work of Kauffman (2002), who found a positive and causal relationship between good governance dimensions and per capita GDP in the long run, that good governance makes development possible.
These dimensions are how governments are selected and overseen, the strength of citizen accountability, credibility in government, respect for institutions, both government and citizens, and effective delivery of public goods. He found that the relationship between these two variables did not have the opposite direction, which meant that higher levels of economic growth did not lead to better governance. For example, Quain (2003) points out that China and Vietnam are common examples in countries that have made tremendous leaps in economic development and poverty alleviation, but retain many of the characteristics of bad governance.
Good governance in local government
Good governance is considered the most important in local government. It tries to promote more relationships between government and
- Empowered citizens
- Environmental council
- Community council
Good governance with local government aims to increase civic engagement with more members of society to get the best option that serves the people.
Good governance in scientific exploration
Before any scientific experiment, the organization must conform to good governance, which means testing must be moral and practical. Many research organizations such as SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering), a geo-engineering research project established in the UK, must go through an evaluation phase before testing can be done if they are funded by stakeholders. In 2011 SPICE made plans to experiment with solar radiation. Methods for this experiment include injecting stratospheric sulfur aerosols into the Earth's atmosphere.
The criteria or "stage gates" they must pass before performing their experiments include the following; identify safe risks and principles, testing should be in accordance with relevant legislation, implementation and future impacts, and the mechanisms applied to review this based on new information, and that stakeholders should be considered and taken into account. Before research can be done in the field of geoengineering it should be investigated using good governance to ensure testing is not harmful to the environment and to detail all possible risks.
Reform and standards
Three institutions can be reformed to promote good governance: the state, the private sector and civil society. However, among different cultures, the needs and demands for reform may vary depending on the country's community priorities. State-level initiatives and international movements emphasize different types of governance reforms. Every movement for reform sets the criteria for what they consider good governance based on their own needs and agendas. The following are examples of good governance standards for leading organizations in the international community. UN (UN)
The United Nations plays an increasing role in good governance. According to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, "Good governance is ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law, strengthening democracy, promoting transparency and capacity in public administration." To implement this, the UN follows eight principles:
- Participation - People should be able to voice their own opinions through legitimate organizations or direct representatives.
- Rules of Law - The legal framework should be imposed impartially, especially on human rights law.
- Consensus-oriented - Mediating interests to meet broad consensus on community best interests.
- Justice and Inclusiveness - People must have opportunities to improve or sustain their welfare.
- Effectiveness and Efficiency - Processes and institutions must be able to produce results that meet the needs of their communities while making the most of their resources.
- Accountability - Government institutions, the private sector, and civil society organizations should be accountable to the public and institutional stakeholders.
- Transparency - Information should be publicly accessible and should be understood and monitored.
- Responsive - Institutions and processes should serve all stakeholders.
International sponsorship of International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was formed at the United Nations (UN) conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. In 1996, the IMF declared "promoting good governance in all its aspects, including by ensuring the rule of law, enhancing the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and addressing corruption, as an essential element of the framework in which the economy can prosper". The IMF feels that corruption in the economy is caused by ineffective economic governance, too many rules or too few rules. To receive loans from the IMF, countries should have good governance policies, as determined by the IMF, in place.
World Bank
The World Bank is concerned about reforms of economic and social resources. In 1992, this underscored three aspects of society that they felt influenced the nature of a country's rule:
- the type of political regime;
- the process by which authority is exercised in the management of economic and social resources, with a view for development; and
- the government's capacity to formulate policies and implement them effectively.
Global Governance Indicator
The World Governance Indicators is a World Bank-funded program to measure governance quality in over 200 countries. It uses six dimensions of governance for their measurements, Voice & amp; Accountability, Political Stability and Violence of Violence, Government Effectiveness, Quality of Rule, Rule of Law, and Control of Corruption. They have studied various countries since 1996.
Effects
International humanitarian fund
Good governance defines a goal that is hard to achieve in full, even though it is something that development advocates consider contributing to causes. Major donors and international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the World Bank, base their aid and loans on condition that recipients undertake reforms to ensure good governance. This is largely due to the close relationship between bad governance and corruption.
Democratization
Because concepts such as civil society, decentralization, peaceful conflict management, and accountability are often used when defining good governance concepts, the definition of good governance encourages ideas that are in harmony with effective democratic governance. Not surprisingly, an emphasis on good governance can sometimes be equated with promoting democratic governance. However, the 2011 literature review analyzing the relationship between democracy and development by Alina Rocha Menocal of the Overseas Development Institute emphasizes the inequality of evidence on this relationship.
Example
A good example of this close relationship, for some actors, between western democratic government and the concept of good governance is the following statement made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Nigeria on August 12, 2009:
Again, to refer to President Obama's speeches, what Africa needs is not a stronger one, it needs a stronger democratic institution that will stand the test of time. (Applause.) Without good governance, no amount of oil or no help, no effort can guarantee the success of Nigeria. But with good governance, nothing can stop Nigeria. It was the same message I brought in all my meetings, including my meeting this afternoon with your president. The United States supports the seven-point agenda for reforms outlined by President Yar'Adua. We believe that shipping on the streets and electricity and education and all other points of the agenda will show the kind of concrete progress that the Nigerian people are waiting for.
The role of political party
Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute have criticized past studies of good governance to place too little importance on developing political parties, their capacity and their relationship with their grassroots supporters. While political parties play a key role in well-functioning democracies, elsewhere political parties are cut off from voters and dominated by elites, with little incentive or ability to improve the representation of other voters. Political parties can play a key role in important moments of state development, either negatively (eg regulating and inciting violence) or positively (eg by leading dialogue in fragmented societies). While differences in electoral systems play their role in defining the number of parties and their influence once in power (proportional, first bypass, etc.), funding and expertise available to the party also play an important role not only in their existence but their ability to connect to broad support base. While the United Nations Development Program and the European Commission have provided funds for political parties since the 1990s, there are still calls to increase support for capacity building activities including the development of party manifestos, party constitutions and campaign skills.
Scientific approach
Nayef Al-Rodhan, in his 2009 book Sustainable History and Human Dignity: A Philosophy of History and Victory of Civilization , proposes eight minimum criteria to ensure good national governance. 8) Al-Rodhan's minimum criteria are: 1) participation, equality, and inclusiveness; 2) rule of law; 3) separation of powers; 4) free, independent and responsible media; 5) government legitimacy; 6) accountability; transparency, and 8) limit the effects of money distortion in politics. In this book, he argues that good national governance is an important component in creating a history of sustainability for mankind. For Al-Rodhan, the eight criteria of a minimum of good governance are the expression of fundamental values ââof democracy and liberal constitutionalism.
The Tuskegee Study from 1932 to 1972 led to the signing of the National Research Act. This law outlines the basic ethical ways in which research should be conducted. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (DHEW) makes regulations requiring voluntary agreements for anyone who will take part in their studies. Governance is used in scientific studies to ensure that policies are safe and ethical when research is conducted on human subjects. After the National Research Act there is another organization formed like the Ethics Advisory Board, which reviews biomedical research. Many federal agencies adopted the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Rights in 1991. In 1995 President Bill Clinton established a National Bioethics Advisory Committee headed by the Department of Health and Human Services with the task of reviewing regulations and policies to ensure the safety of research volunteers.
Criticism
According to Sam Agere, "The discretionary space left by the lack of a well-defined scope for what includes governance allows users to select and manage their own parameters."
In this book 'Good' Contesting Government, the standard contests of Eva Poluha and Mona Rosendahl are common to western democracies as a measure of â ⬠Å"cityâ ⬠in government. By applying political anthropological methods, they conclude that while governments believe they apply good governance concepts when making decisions, cultural differences can lead to conflict with heterogeneous standards of the international community.
Another source of good government criticism is the Smart Man Guide for Good Governance , written by Surendra Munshi. Munshi's work was created to "revive" good governance. Many people tend to be wavering and bored with the idea of ââgovernment, or do not know at all about what it is. This book is a general discussion of what the purpose of good governance is and how it serves that purpose throughout our society. Munshi targeted the book to anyone who did the research or simply "those concerned with governance".
Rethinking Systems: Configuring Politics and Policies in Contemporary Governance , written by Michael P. Crozier, is another work that analyzes good governance. The Crozier article discusses the dynamics of the different changes that occur throughout the communication system and its impact on governance. Ideas of various perspectives are presented throughout the article. This allows the reader to see what contemporary government looks like from different perspectives. Crozier's motive is also to create an open mindset when referring to how governance and policy in society operate, especially with constant changes occurring from day to day.
See also
- Developing country
- Due Diligence
- Good governance
- Good Governance Day
- Peace, good order and good governance
References
Book sources
- Agere, Sam (2000). Promote good governance . Commonwealth Secretariat. ISBN: 978-0-85092-629-3. Ã, found on Google Books
- Khan, Mushtaq Husain (2004). Establishment of a state in Palestine: survival and governance during social transformation: Volume 2 economic Middle East and North Africa Politics . Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-33802-8. found in Google Books
- Heritier, P. & amp; Silvestri P. (Eds.), Good Governance, Governance, Human Complexity. The legacy of Luigi Einaudi and contemporary society , Leo Olschki, Firenze, 2012.
- Quian, Yingyi (2003) "How Reform Worked in China", in Rodrik.
External links
- What is Good Governance ?, UNESCAP
- Sustainable Governance Indicators
- World Governance Management Researcher
Source of the article : Wikipedia