Understanding the Theoretical Bases of Governance Aser B. Javier, PhD University of the Philippines Los Banos aserjavier@yahoo.com
Learning Objectives Understand the various perspectives of governance within a public administration context Explore the paradigmatic responses to various governance challenges
Presentation Flow 1 2 3 4 Theoretical Dynamics of Governance Governance as a Transdisciplinary Field Governance Issues in the ASEAN Integration Our Way Forward
Horse before the Cart!
Horse and Cart and Catfish?
A Governance Continuum Law Political Science Public Administr ation Economics Managem ent New Public Managem ent New Models of Governing
Governance Environment New models of governing (ownership, harmonization and alignment with target-country process) Phase 5 Phase 1 Consolidation of democracy Phase 2 Government is the solution (Era of Big Government) Private sector is idolized (Efficiency, effectiveness, economies of scale and entrepreneurship) Phase 4 Phase 3 Government is the root and cause of the problem
What is Governance? The word governance was derived from the Greek verb κυβερνάω [kubernáo] which means to steer and was used for the first time in a metaphorical sense by Plato. It originates from the need of economics (as regards corporate governance) and political science (as regards State governance) for an all-embracing concept capable of conveying diverse meanings not covered by the traditional term "government".
Four Theoretical Dynamics of Governance
Governance as Power Governance is the management of the country s economic and social resources for development (World Bank, 1987) Governance refers to the exercise of political, economic, and administrative authority to manage a nation s affairs. It is the complex mechanisms, process, relationships, and institutions through which citizens articulate their interest, exercise their rights and obligations and mediate their differences (United Nations, 1990)
Governance as Process Refers to all methods that societies use to allocate and manage resources (UNDP, 2001) Refers to the steering of institutional arrangements (Pierre and Peters, 2001) It is from the latin word cybern which means the science of control How things are done and not just what is done
Governance as Community Refers to the patterns or structures that emerges in a sociopolitical system as a common result of the efforts of all actors (Jan Kooiman, 1987) Governance is seen as the resolution of common problems with least state intervention (Peters, 2001) Governance involves not just the state but this includes also civil society and business
Governance as Managing of the Self Governance is a way of viewing the individual or the self as the locus and trigger of making things happen Focus on capacity building
The hole and the patch should be commensurate!
Governance in Summary Power Process Community Self Regulation Management Integration Capacity Development Hierarchy Bureaucracy Coercion Organization/ Institutional Development/Human Resource Management Administrative Simplification/ Institutional Arrangements Private sector principles in the public sector Network Cooperation Team Science Self as Benchmark of Governance Human Behavior
Governance as a Transdisciplinal Field Transdisciplinarity is essentially, team science. In transdisciplinarity, scientists contribute their unique expertise but work outside their own discipline e.g. climate change, local economic development, watershed management, etc. In transdisciplinarity, there is emphasis on the primacy of disciplinal anchor In transdisciplinarity, investigators transcend their own disciplines to inform one another s work, capture complexity, and create new intellectual spaces.
Governance as a Transdisciplinal Field Transdisciplinary Research Multidisciplinary Research Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration in which exchanging information, altering discipline-specific approaches, sharing resources and integrating disciplines achieves a common scientific goal (Rosenberg 1992). Researchers from a variety of disciplines work together at some point during a project, but have separate questions, separate conclusions, and disseminate in different journals. Researchers interact with the goal of transferring knowledge from one discipline to another. Allows researchers to inform each other s work and compare individual findings.
"transforming communities, building a nation Leadership, local governance, poverty, environment, social accountability, social entrepreneurship center of excellence in implementing governance research and training in partnership with local and international institutions Transparency and, accountability, Local, governance and innovation Democracy, rights, and, citizenship, Peace, gender, and environment distinctive excellence in development studies and governance in support of national development goals in the agriculture and rural sector and communities in transition. governance and delivery of services, community resource management and sustainable development, social development, poverty reduction, science and technology policy for development
Governance and the ASEAN Integration Major Changes: i. Free Flow of services ii. Facilitation of expert movements iii. Standardization and harmonization of key competencies AEC Proposed Actions: i. Enhance cooperation among ASEAN University Network (AUN) members to increase mobility for both students and staff within the region; ii. Develop core competencies and qualifications for job/occupational and trainers skills required in the priority services sectors (by 2009); and in other services sectors (from 2010 to 2015); and iii. Strengthen the research capabilities of each ASEAN Member Country in terms of promoting skills, job placements, and developing labour market information networks among ASEAN Member Countries.
Major Governance Issues in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Process Community Power Self Developing countries are always playing catch-up visà-vis public policy and program administration. A completely different set of problems occur when even if the rules are complied with but the original problem of poverty does not disappear The preparation focus of both national and local government agencies as a compliance to the 2007 AEC agreement is found wanting. Keeping up with member states capabilities both at the institutional and individual levels
Way Forward 1. Art of Scale Jumping International Supranational National Region Province Barangay Municipality/ City
Way Forward 2. Intelligent Opportunism Intelligent opportunismopenness to new experience which allows to take advantage of alternative strategies Function One: Search for Knowledge and Truth Function Two: Search for Solutions Function Three: Search for Intelligent Opportunism Disciplinal Niching and Anchor, Scale Jumping, Credibility Building, Innovations, Results Orientation, Team Science
Idea three be an enemy of the status quo
idea four Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!
Way Forward 5. Innovations and Simplification Three outstanding attitudes- obliviousness to the growing disaffection of constituents, primacy of self aggrandizement, and the illusion of invulnerable status are the persistent aspects of folly. Barbara Tuchman, The March of Folly
Way Forward 6. Matino at Mahusay
I believe if you train hard, the fight will be easy!