HIST- 348

Module IV :

Public Policy And Good

Governance
 Syllabus : Module IV
Good Governance: Meaning and Features - Government and
Governance ;

Various Theories of Governance: Rational Choice, Systems and

New Institutionalism;

Necessary Pre-Conditions For Good Governance;

Relationship between Public Policy and Governance New Horizons

of Governance;

Recent Major Public Policies undertaken by Government of India

 Governance : An Overview
In 1990s, “management” largely lost its pristine glory to a new avatar
called “governance”.
Government had exclusive jurisdiction over governance, but with the rise
of this avatar to prominence, the business corporate world also adopted it.

Thus, corporate governance became fashionable. As a consequence, public

administration or management ceased to be the focus.
It was thought, words like administration or management harped on
processual, whereas governance was the substantive part of functioning of
state’s organisational life, being at the heart of the thing.
Governance is administration-cum-management plus, and hence more
inclusive, more expansive, more citizen-cum-customer related and more
modernly contemporary.
 Governance : An Overview Contd…
The Webster’s Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English
Language defines governance as a method or system of government or
management.
The term “governance” is thus a qualitative expression, a normative
concept and is different from “government”.
Governance is a qualitative concept whereas government is a physical
entity.
The report of Al Gore’s National Performance Review (1993) prefers the
term “democratic governance” to “good governance” and its
distinguishing attributes lie in certain “values” such as equal opportunity,
justice, diversity and democracy.
 Governance : An Overview Contd…
Good Governance being an adjective expression denotes certain value-
assumptions, whereas governance as a process denotes a value –free
dispensation.
Good governance is associated with efficient and effective administration
in a democratic framework.
It is equivalent to purposive and development oriented administration
which is committed to improvement in quality of life of the people.
It implies high level of organisational effectiveness.
It also relates to the capacity of the centre of power of political and
administrative system to cope up with the emerging challenges of the
society.
It refers to adoption of new values of governance to establish greater
efficiency, legitimacy and credibility of the system.
 Governance : An Overview Contd…
Good governance is, thus, a function of installation of positive virtues of
administration and elimination of vices of dysfunctionalities.
In short, it must have the attributes of an effective, credible and legitimate
administrative system - citizen-friendly, value-caring and people-sharing.
The concept of “good governance” derives its relevance in the context of
misgovernance.
In many countries, the democratic form of government has proved to be
ineffective for checking swindling of public funds for private gains by the elected
leaders as well as permanent-bureaucrats. Misuse of power, fraud and
embezzlement of funds are systematically perpetrated by the leaders of
government and their unions.
Misgovernance is found all around, especially in the developing countries, in
rampant degree.
The concept of good governance becomes attractive as a remedy against this state
of affairs.
 Good Governance : Its Meaning
Recently the terms "governance" and "good governance" are being increasingly used in
development literature.

Major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and
loans on the condition that reforms that ensure "good governance" are undertaken.

The preliminary condition of good governance is the establishment of the Rule of Law
supplanting the rule of whims and caprice of the power that be.

Good governance demands that government must be not only representative but responsive
as well to the needs of governed. A strong sense of responsiveness and commitment to
serve the governed – the customer and client of the government- would ensure efficient
delivery of services to the people.

Thus, good governance shares or aims at the ethos of a cohesive and responsible
democratic society. Good governance provides moral legitimacy, apart from constitutional
validity, and credibility to the goals as well as instrumentalities of government. Good
governance comprehends within itself all sections of governance and all sections and
regions of society.
 Good Governance – Contd…
Governance is often described as Good Governance of society. Good governance itself depends
on a range of factors including administrative capacity, the country’s stage of development, the
external conditions that it faces and the state of IT available to it for taking decisions.
Let us take a look at some of the agenda items of good governance as follows:
1. Enhancing effective and efficient administration;
2. Improving quality of life of citizens;
3. Establishing legitimacy and credibility of institutions;
4. Making administration responsive, citizen-friendly and citizen-caring;
5. Ensuring accountability;
6. Securing freedom of information and expression;
7. Reducing cost of governance;
8. Making every department result-oriented;
9. Improving quality of public services;
10. Improving productivity of employees;
11. Eradication of corruption to re-establish credibility of government;
12. Removal of arbitrariness in exercise of authority; and
13. Use of IT base services to de-mystify procedures and improve the citizen-government
interface.
 Good Governance – Contd…
World Bank has identified a number of aspects of good governance which has
assumed significance for the developed and the developing countries. These factors
deal with political and administrative aspects, which are as follows:
1. Political accountability, including the acceptability of political system by the
people, and regular elections to legitimize the exercise of political power.
2. Freedom of association and participation by various religious, social, economic,
cultural and professional groups in the process of governance.
3. An established legal framework based on the rule of law and independence of
judiciary to protect human rights, secure social justice and guard against
exploitation and abuse of power.
4. Bureaucratic accountability ensuring a system to monitor and control the
performance of government offices and officials in relation to quality of service,
inefficiency and abuse of discretionary power. The related to quality of service,
inefficiency and abuse of discretionary power. The related determinants include
openness and transparency in administration.
5. Freedom of information needed for formulation of public policies, decision-
making, monitoring and evaluation of government performance.
6. A sound administration system leading to efficiency and effectiveness. This, in
turn, means the value for money and cost effectiveness.
7. Cooperation between the government and civil society organisations.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is :

1. participatory,
2. consensus oriented,
3. accountable,
4. transparent,
5. responsive,
6. effective and efficient,
7. equitable and inclusive and
8. follows the rule of law.

It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into
account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-
making.
It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
Contd…
 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
Contd…

Participation
Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance.
Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions
or representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does
not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be
taken into consideration in decision making. Participation needs to be informed
and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand
and an organized civil society on the other hand.
The principle of participation derives from an acceptance that people are at the
heart of development. They are not only the ultimate beneficiaries of
development, but are also the agents of development.

Rule of law
Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It
also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities.
Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial
and incorruptible police force.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
Contd…

Transparency
Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a
manner that follows rules and regulations.
It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those
who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement.

It also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily
understandable forms and media.

Transparency refers to the availability of information to the general public and

clarity about government rules, regulations, and decisions.

Responsiveness
Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all
stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
Contd…

Consensus oriented
There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good
governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad
consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and
how this can be achieved.

Equity and inclusiveness

A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have
a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires
all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or
maintain their well being.

Effectiveness and efficiency

Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet
the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The
concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the
sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
Contd…

Accountability
Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental
institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be
accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders.
Who is accountable to whom varies depending on whether decisions or actions
taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. In general an
organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its
decisions or actions.

Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law.

Accountability is imperative to make public officials answerable for government
behaviour and responsive to the entity from which they derive their authority.

Accountability also means establishing criteria to measure the performance of

public officials, as well as oversight mechanisms to ensure that the standards are
met.
 Government and Governance
A strong government combined with a clear vision and procedures to implement
the vision are necessary for the growth of the nation. Both go hand in hand.
Failure of either of the one will lead to the total collapse of the system. So, it
becomes vital to have a proper government and correct governance. Only then the
organization/state flourish.
Government denotes a group of representatives who takes care of the
administration and proper functioning of the country.
Governance is all about the concept or the rules and regulation framed by the
elected representatives to achieve the above-mentioned administration.

In the government, the representatives are elected by the people of the country
through the direct and indirect election in case of a democratic government.
In the case of governance, the elected representatives discuss together to arrive at
policies and framework to execute it.
 What is Government
Government is a body consisting of a group of leaders or representatives who come
together in a common platform for taking charge of all activities happening in the state.
They are bestowed with some powers which depend on the mode of the government. For
example, the constitution empowers the government with certain powers for carrying out
the necessary tasks.

In a democratic government, the representatives are elected by the people of the nation
through election (poll). The representatives in turn select a leader who will oversee all
activities occurring in the country. He governs the entire state and he becomes accountable
for any good or bad activity occurring in the state. The government (democratic) acts as a
medium through which powers, regulation, policies, rules of the state get employed.

Government is responsible for framing the various policies which are and must be aimed
for the welfare of the state.

In a democratic government, the representatives are selected for a fixed time period (say
five or four years) which varies from state to state. People may or may not elect the
representatives for the next period which depends on the efficiency of the representatives in
governing and proper functioning.
 What is Governance
Governance is the framework formed by the government for ensuring the proper
functioning of the state.

It can also be defined as the way which the government implement the policies for
good results for the desired target.

The target could be the people, or some organization or the government itself.
Since the action of the government reflects directly on the governance,
governance stands as a testimony for the working of the government.

It gives us a clear picture of whether the government is working for the welfare of
the state.

In a democratic government, the elected representatives are given responsibilities

for a particular department depending on their skills. The elected representatives
are responsible for forming the framework for proper governance. The framework
includes vision, mission, goals, targets and ways to be achieved, rules and
regulations, policies, etc.
 Comparison Between Government & Governance

Parameter of
Government Governance
Comparison
A framework which consists of
A group of representatives or
rules, procedures, regulations
Definition leaders who take charge of all
which are executed by the
activities happening in the state.
government.
Controls the state by the powers The concept followed by the
Function
assigned to them. government to achieve the goals.
People selected by predefined
The term
mechanism followed in the Policies, rules and regulation.
denotes
respective state.
Dependency
It is an Independent factor. Depends on the government.
between the two

Democratic Government, National Health Policy, Universal

Example
Autocratic government etc… Educational program etc…
 Government & Governance : Conclusion

Though government and governance are related to

each other, they have a difference between them.

To simply put, the government rules the organization

or the country and the governance is the way adopted
by the government to achieve the goals set by them for
proper functioning.

Both are necessary for the sustainability of the

organization or the country.
 Theories of Governance
a. Global Governance
Global governance describes governance at the global level. The concept refers to
international organizations that operate on a global scale, and describes the link between
the activities of their members in a specific field of international relations—for example, an
international monetary system for the IMF.

While global governance does not require formal structures like good governance, the best
examples of organizations operating according to this type of governance are the IMF and
the World Bank because they possess all three characteristics of global governance.
b. Subsidiarity
The theory of subsidiarity, or multi-level governance, focuses on the relationships between
international organizations and their member states. This theory is based on the view that
an international organization possesses certain powers traditionally exercised by the
sovereign state, because its member countries surrendered these powers upon entering the
particular organization.
Because member states are giving some of their traditional sovereign powers to an
international organization, they are considered to be making a leap of faith in joining the
organization.
 Cont-
Subsidiarity consists of a vertical and a horizontal component.
Vertical subsidiarity describes the process of delegating issues to the public actor at the
lowest level capable of addressing the issue.

Horizontal subsidiarity addresses the idea of states delegating policymaking issues to

non-state (that is, private) actors, such as businesses, labor groups, non-governmental
organizations, consumer groups, foundations, and other interested parties.

In comparison, vertical subsidiarity delegates policymaking to public actors.

c. Governance as the Minimal State

The theory of governance as the minimal state refers to an organizational structure that
arises when there is no government involvement.

Applying this theory to international affairs would suggest that international affairs would
be regulated without intervention from a formal actor, such as national governments or
international organizations. Rather, governance would arise from the aggregation of
individual decisions in the marketplace, and as a result, there will always be some sort of
organic framework that governs the behavior of all actors within international relations.
 Cont-
d. The New Public Management Theory
The new public management theory involves managing an organization—in our context, an
international organization—by introducing private-sector management methods and
incentive structures into the particular organization.

Advocates of this theory believe that introducing private-sector methods and incentive
structures into international organizations will increase the efficiency of these
organizations. They derive their inspiration from market economics, rather than democratic
theory. Applying the new public management theory to international organizations would
require running the organizations like a private business.

Governance as Networks and Systems Outside Government

Two related theories focus on the role of non-governmental actors in international
organizations: (1) governance as a socio-cybernetic system, and (2) governance as self
organizing networks. To some extent these theories play off of the theory of governance as
the minimal state. Governance as a socio-cybernetic system refers to informal and
nongovernmental methods of organizing actors that are accountable to a government in
some manner.
 The Role of Democratic Theory in Governance

Democratic theory greatly influences the debate on governance issues concerning

international organizations.

However, scholars disagree as to the extent of the impact of democratic theory on

the governance of international organizations. Those who apply the democratic
theory within this context see a democratic deficit within international
organizations.
Democratic deficit refers to a lack of well-developed democratic structures and
institutions within a given international organization.

There are numerous views on what makes a structure or institution democratic.

Scholars commonly organize the divergent views on democracy into four flavors:
libertarian, pluralist, social, and deliberative.

This group of critics argues that international organizations should not be

understood through the lens of democracy because these organizations are
fundamentally different from national governments.
 Good Governance Strategies
Good governance strategies refer to measures that are designed to improve the
overall governance of an organization by increasing its effectiveness and
legitimacy.
In the case of international organizations, good governance is not about increasing
the power of these organizations; rather, good governance advocates establishing a
solid foundation for rules and procedures, which will help international
organizations fulfill their individual goals.
Just as there are many different theories on how to understand the governance
arrangements of international organizations, there are many different approaches
to good governance, which include:
(1) democratic strategies,
(2) results-based strategies,
(3) order-derived strategies,
(4) systemic strategies, and
(5) procedural strategies.
 Necessary Pre-Conditions For Good
Governance
A study of the hindrances to good governance shows that many preconditions
must be satisfied to make governance citizen-centric. A few of the preconditions
are given below :
• Effective legal framework
• Sound and effective institutional mechanism for correct implementation of laws
• Competent employees manning these institutions and efficient personnel
management policies
• Apt policies for delegation, decentralization and fixing accountability.
Also, several tools can also be used to make the citizen centric administration.
These are listed below :
• Re-engineering processes
• Adopting correct modern technology
• Right to information
• Citizens’ charters
• Independent services’ evaluation
• Grievance redressal mechanisms
• Active citizens’ participation – public-private partnerships
 Relationship between Public Policy and
Governance
Public Policy
Public policy is a complex phenomenon consisting of numerous
decisions made by the numerous individuals and organizations in
government.
These decisions are often shaped by earlier policies and frequently
are linked closely with other seemingly unrelated decisions.
In simple words, public policy is a set of interrelated decisions taken
by a political actor or group of actors, who make decisions
concerning the situation and specific time for achieving goal or
peace in the society.
Policies are made to run the system in order. Without policies no
organization can run without chaos let alone the government. It is
the policies which keep things in their places.
 Relationship between Public Policy and
Governance – Contd…
Features of Public Policy
It is a set of norms limiting the standards of rules and regulations.
It is the essence of government and service.
It is coercive, distributive and systematic.
It is the patterns of actions over time.
It is the product of demand.
It is either purposive of action or inaction.

Governance
Governance is the government’s ability to make and enforce rules. It is
also to deliver services regardless of whether that government is
democratic or not. If it is conceptualized simply then it is the process of
decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented or
not. It also can be in different forms, such as- corporate governance,
international governance, national governance, local governance, new
public management governance (NPM), and others.
 Relationship between Public Policy and
Governance – Contd…
There are some shared characteristics of governance. They are :
• Interdependence between organizations. Governance is more than
government, covering non-state actors and changing the
boundaries between public and private.
• Continuing interactions between network members, caused by the
need to exchange resources and negotiate shared purposes.
• Interactions rooted in trust and regulated by rules.
Also good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory,
consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective,
equitable and inclusive alongside follows the rule of law.
Relationship between Public Policy and Governance
Conceptualization of public policy and governance has made it
easier to define the relationship between them.
 Relationship between Public Policy and
Governance – Contd…
As we know that public policy is created for the development of the state mostly
by the government or by the institutions under the government. Public policy
cannot be made by a day. It is processed in different level. Such as, for
implementing a policy or evolving a policy there are institutions which get
involved.

The government gets involved in these institutions. They decide how it should go
and how much money it should get for the implementation. They set an agenda
and through evaluation it gets a form of public policy. If the government chooses
what the policy should be in first level then, there are possibilities of getting it
done fully by any means. It seems quite clear how the relationship works.
If the government works as a good government (whether it is democratic or not),
the relationship kind of works to ‘government to policy’ not vice versa. Because if
there were different institutions of deciding the public policy then there were
chances that the policies would have been different than what the government
wanted it to be.
 Relationship between Public Policy and
Governance – Contd…
The need of public policy can come from anywhere. It can be from
the government or the society or sometimes the government opens a
debate for a situation where a public policy is needed. People can
express anything about the policy. But ultimately it’s the government
who gets to decide how the policy should be and implements it
lastly. This is how the relationship works.

Since the government decides how the policy should be, it’s hard to
believe that the policy would be different from the perception of the
ruling government.