Comparative Governance Rediscovering the Functional Dimension of Governing

Decision-making is at the heart of governing and governance, and is a more challenging task compared to just a few decades ago as a result of increasing social complexity and globalization. In this book, B. Guy Peters and Jon Pierre propose a new framework for the comparative analysis of governance, arguing that government remains a central actor in governance. By articulating the functionalist dimension of governance they show how goal setting, resource mobilization, decision-making, implementation and feedback can be performed by a combination of different types of actors. Even so, effective governance requires a leading role for government. The framework is also applied to a taxonomy of governance arrangements and national styles of governing. Comparative Governance advances our knowledge about governance failure and how forms of governance may change. It also significantly strengthens the theory of governance, showing how governance can be studied conceptually as well as empirically.

Preface; 1. The governance problem; 2. The theory of governance; 3. Decision-making: the essence of governing; 4. Governance and comparative politics; 5. The institutional politics of intergovernmental relationships; 6. Implementation, administration and governance; 7. Governance failure, functional failure and state failure; 8. The change of governance and the governance of change; 9. Conclusions: governance, functionalism and comparative politics; References; Index.

B. Guy Peters earned his PhD at Michigan State University and has four honorary doctorates from European universities. He is the author or editor of over 70 books in comparative politics, public administration and public policy. He was the founding co-editor of Governance and the European Political Science Review and is the founding president of the International Public Policy Association.
Jon Pierre received his PhD from the University of Lund in 1986. He is the author or editor of more than 30 books and numerous journal articles. He is a former co-editor of Governance, and former associate editor of the European Political Science Review and the Urban Affairs Review. His research is focused on public administration, governance, and urban politics.