6
H.A. KHAN
define meta-governance as “governance or (self-) governance”, which includes institutional design and network framing, and the process management and direct participation Marsh and Rhodes (1992) and Kickert et al. (1997), building on the work of Hanf and Scharpf (1978), use governance as a way to explore the workings of policy communities and networks. Kooiman (2003) argues for “social-political governance” as an overarching theory of institutional relationships within society. Kickert et al. (1997) and Rhodes (1996) defines governance as the machinery of “self-organizing inter-organizational networks” that function both within and outside government to provide public services Rhodes (1996) defines governance as “self-organizing inter- organizational networks” and suggests that governments should enable networks like Public--Private Partnerships (PPPs). Governance is viewed as a more widely encompassing concept (Rosenau 2000). International organizations have been emphasizing good governance to improve the quality of life. Good governance also includes openness, transparency, and the control of corruption. Bovaird and Löffler (2002, p. 4) emphasize the common elements of governance which include an acceptance that in modern public governance there are many stakeholders other than governments. This implies that governance deals both with the rules, formal and informal, that govern society and with the processes by which the rules are interpreted and modified. Halachmi (2003, p. 72) distinguishes between the terms governing and governance by emphasizing a number of distinctions between the two: governing is control and governance is steering; governing is state-centered and governance is polycentric; governing takes place in a recognized border while governance results from interactions within and across borders; and, finally, governance is multidimensional. Governance is a broader term that covers all aspects of the society: economic, corporate, public, etc. This research focuses on the issue of governance in the public sector. In modern times, there are a multitude of actors who have an impact on policy. These actors can be local, national, or international in nature. So, the traditional reliance on the agencies and the bureaucrats may no longer be adequate in terms of executing the policies. Therefore, governance is a better terminology to understand the nature of the present-day administration. Frederickson (2002) asserts that governance is a way to reposition public administration as a pre-eminent discipline based on the new global realities. The basic task of public administration, therefore,
