Fundamental Aspects of Governance

1.1 : Fundamental Aspects of Governance

Meaning and Definition

Governance is the system or mechanism of operating state. It is the exercise of political power to manage state affairs. Governance is the sum total of processes, structures, institutions and customs through which the function of governing is carried out. It is required for the well-functioning of state mechanism and society. Poor governance ultimately results to poverty.

UNDP, in its strategy Note on Governance for Human Development, defines “Governance is the system of values, policies and institutions by which a society manages its economic, political and social affairs through interactions within and among the state, civil society and private sectors.”

Governance is as old as human civilization, through it used to be rudimentary then. In traditional sense, governance implies the functions of controlling, directing, maintaining law and order and punishing in case of breach of law by state authorities. But in modern sense, governance implies the lawful activities and functions of people`s representatives to pursue public interest, embracing democratic norms and values.

Modern governance can basically be categorized into two types-parliamentary and presidential form of governance, while the structure of government may be Unitary or Federal. Governance has wide-spread scope. It ranges from womb to tomb, ordinary public to the head of the state, and village to the globe.

By and large, governance is:

• A political process of statecraft,
• Democratic and legitimate act of pursuing public interest,
• Reflection of socio-economic setting of a state,
• Ideology adopted by the state,
• Brain and soul of the state system.

Basically, governance encompasses four prime aspects, viz., regulation, management of resources, public mobilization and public service delivery.

Conceptual Development

The governance system across the globe has been changing due to the rapidly changing needs and expectations of the people, and political culture. It has been continuously changing by embracing new democratic ideologies, norms and values. It has developed traversing pre-historic period through medieval to post-modern period of today.

1. Governance is as old as state system.
2. Aristotle advocated for governance as per the constitution.
3. In 1215, Magna Carta put forward the concept that governing power should be vested in people, in the United Kingdom.
4. In 1689, parliament acquired and exercised the power of the king through Bill of Rights, in the UK.
5. The United States constitution that came in to effect on March 4, 1789 established democratic governance system and rule of law in the U.S.
6. French Revolution acknowledge the people as the real governing power, uprooting absolute monarchy and initializing democratic governance in France in 1789.
7. In 1885, A.V. Dicey interpreted the “Rule of Law” stressing on the law as the supreme authority for governance, and governance system as per the law.
8. After the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948, and establishment of various regional and international organizations, concept of global, human-centric and good governance have been embraced and adopted on a global scale.

Roles of Governance

Geopolitical situation, customs, civic sense, environment, natural resources, political ideology, social norms and values and nature of government itself influence the role of governance. Generally, the roles of governance are:-

• Regulating: by framing rules and regulations, and adherence of it.
• Resource management: Human, physical, financial, natural, information, etc.
• Public mobilization to enhance active and meaningful participation of citizens in governance process for socio-economic development.
• Public service and development delivery.
• Monitoring and evaluation of government functions.
• Mirroring public aspirations and expectations, and executing to satisfy them.

Bases for assessing governance system`s effectiveness:-

• Efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory functions.
• Protection of life, liberty and property of people.
• Level of public satisfaction and ownership.
• Protection and promotion of human rights.
• Application of the rule law, sound policies and rules.
• Service delivery.
• Level of democratic exercise and public partifipation.
• Accountability, transparency and response level.
• Optimum utilization of resource and global opportunities.
• Stability of the goverment.

Actors of Governance

Various actors act their respective roles in a governance system. The actors in governance system are:

1. Legislature : It formulates laws for governing as per the rule of law. It directs and monitors Executive towards efficient functioning for meeting public needs and expectations. It also works as a reservoir of public opinion, as it consists of the representatives elected by the people through voting.
2. Executive : It executes the laws and directions of the legislature. Similarly, it formulates and implements rules and procedures to run the general administration and carry out development and service delivery functions for socio-economic development of the country.
3. Judiciary : It depends the justice and interprets the law. It helps to ensure the “Rule of Law” as well.
4. Constitutional Bodies : They are the independent and autonomous apparatuses provisioned in the constitution, and entrusted to carry out specific executive, quasi-judicial and oversight functions in a transparent, effective and impartial manner.
5. Private Sectors : They participate in governance system through their economic power, and through corporate governance by fulfilling their corporate interest.
6. Social Sector : It contributes for social dynamics and development through social service. For example, non-government organizations, civil society, community based organizations, etc.
7. International Community : UNO, its specialized agencies, regional and international organizations, regional grouping and alliances, etc. also have their governance in the modern age of global governance.

Characteristics / Feature of governance

Everything under the sun is changing, so is the governance. Nonetheless, the fundamental characteristics of democratic governance, which remain relatively stable in today`s world, are:

1. Civilian Supremacy : The notion that citizens are the supreme power and government is just an instrument designed and mandated to satisfy their needs and expectations.
2. Rule of Law : The legal principle that democratic law is the supreme power which should govern, as opposed to being governed by arbitrary power.
3. Representative system : People elect their representatives by casting their votes in election to represent themselves in democratic governance system.
4. Regulatory Power : Governance has the legal authority(coercive power) to regulate so as to maintain peace and order in the state.
5. Periodic election and adult franchise : It ensures the governance by the peoples representatives through voting, testing the political candidate`s ability to represent people with respect to time.
6. Structure of the governance : Governance has its functional structure for efficient and effective functioning which primarily consists of Executive, Legislature and independent judiciary.
7. Separation, and check and balance of power : This ensures delineation of authority among Legislature, Executive and judiciary, and effective checks and balances among them with appropriate cooperation and coordination mechanisms for efficient functioning of the governance system.
8. Independent, competent and impartial judiciary : It ensures the judiciary or courts of law to be free and independent from improper influence of other government bodies and partisan interests in justice dispensation.
9. Judicial review : The provision which guarantees that Legislature`s and Executive actions are subject to review by the independent judiciary so as to confirm that they are lawful for justice administration.
10. Embracement of Human Rights : Governance should establish, ensure and promote fundamental as well as entire human rights. In modern democratic system, governance which ignores human right is, in fact, not the governance at all in real sense.
11. Multi-dimensional relations : Governance has multi-dimensional refers relations with multiple actors. Cooperation and coordination of the government with private sector, civil society, non-government organizations as well as international community is required for the efficient and effective operation of state, mechanism.
12. Vision : Governance not only operates the state but also envisages the destination of the state. It envisions the political, socio-economic, administrative and scientific-technological target of the state, and carries out strategies, policies and programs to achieve those targets in a time-bound manner.

Are governance and government the same?

Governance and Government are the two words that sound similar and often used interchangeably. Difference between governance and government is confusing for many people. Governance and government are interchangeable in the sense “the process of governing” but they differ in real sense. Though they are similar in substance, they are different in meaning.

Governance is what a government does. It is the exercise of powers that are bestowed upon the government according to set rules and regulations using a system of bureaucracy that defines governance. On the other hand, government is an instrument devised for the purpose of governance. It is a body that comprises a person or a group of persons who run the administration of a country. It is an agent, acting as a means, through which governing power is exercised.

while government is the agent mandated for governing, governance is the result of the agent`s action. How the agent is performing is reflected in governance.

Government often refers to the governing body itself, while governance often refers to the act of governing. So, members of a government are engaged in the body through which this is done.

Meanwhile, Governance is often the world which is also used for the administration of non-governmental organizations (corporate governance in corporations, for example), while government works better in reference to the public administration of nations, states, municipalities, etc.