character of power and authority in the international arena; (iii) the underlying dynamics of governance; and (iv) governance as a process. This 2007 working paper from the Tyndall Centre concludes that although eclecticism is hardly celebrated in the IR scholarship, one ultimately would have to draw from the four theoretical traditions in order to generate a robust framework for conceptualizing climate governance beyond the international regime.
Governance for sustainable development: a framework This paper by Annemarie van Zeijl-Rozema, Ron Cörvers and René Kemp deals with the linking of two complex concepts, governance and sustainable development. Sustainable development is a normative concept, dealing with different temporal and spatial scales and with multiple stakeholders. It indicates a process of human progress. Sometimes sustainable development is objectified in terms of goals and principles, but the exact meaning of sustainable development is usually left open. Governance is seen as a means to steer the process of sustainable development. However, governance is not a straightforward concept either. It can be seen as a collection of rules, stakeholder involvement and processes to realise a common goal. The central assumption in this paper is that sustainable development cannot be achieved without governance because of the nature of the sustainable development concept. Sustainable development incorporates wicked issues, social complexity and weak institutionalisation. In this paper we argue that the many perspectives on sustainable development can be described meaningfully between the extremes of the rational, objective perspective and the normative perspective of sustainable development. Furthermore, the variety of modes of governance can be captured between hierarchical governance and co-governance. From this we derive four typologies of state-society relations (governance) for sustainable development: the rational state, the rational society, the normative state and the normative society. The main conclusion of this paper is that the debate on governance for sustainable development will be clarified if the perspective on sustainable development and the mode of governance “and the combination of the two” is made more explicit.
Applying good governance concept to promote local economic development: contribution and challenge This paper in the International Journal of Economic Development by Kuotsai Tom Liou examines the application of good governance concept in the area of local economic development and focuses on contribution and challenge issues. The paper includes a review of major concepts of good governance, the role of government, and the importance of public management reform. On the contribution issues, the paper emphasizes such concepts as the devolution and decentralization policy, the flexibility and choice principle, and the networking and partnership strategy. On the challenge issues, the paper identifies potential problems of the limitation of managerial capacity, the lack of accountability, and the inconsistence of leadership and policy. The implications of both contribution and challenge issues are summarized in the conclusion section.
Fostering citizen participation top-down This paper by Lyn Carson and Rodolfo Lewanski observes that while many political theorists speak of the need to institutionalize deliberative democratic processes there is little evidence of institutionalization. This despite the fact that there have been many successful experiments with robust public participation methods. What has been missing to date is the political will to convert those experiments to routine practice supported by legislation. This paper documents a novel Law enacted in Tuscany in December 2007. It is a piece of legislation with the potential to provide a model for societies that are considered to be democratic. Tuscan Law no. 69 demonstrates how representative government and mini-publics might do more than co-exist. More information which can be used to enhance citizens’ involvement in the activities o