Abstract
There is no agreement on what should be contained in the category “Good Governance.” It is essentially a contested term. Both what is “good” and what is “governance” call for long and unresolved academic discussions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
As reported in the Economist (September 8th 2012, even to the biggest development project of South Asia, the Bangladesh bridge over Padma river is stopped due to suspicion of corruption. The WB in this case shows more concern than other donors, particularly those located in the Asian region.
- 2.
From the same newspaper article: “She added that the lack of equality by these institutions is unfair and they should be changed so that they become democratic and transparent and also tell the countries the possible implications of what they are advising poor countries to do. ‘They are all dominated by the central countries and the interests they serve are not for developing countries. The conditions they impose on our countries to give them money affect the sovereignty of the countries and parliaments should keep an eye on what their governments are signing,’ Ms Escuredo said.”
- 3.
In Thailand, the IMF was called “I Am Fired” because of its recommendation to downsize employees as a strategy for economic recovery.
- 4.
According to the experts on UNDP, its focus on social processes rather than design (as I would formulate it) can be seen to be not only politically, but also ethically different from the WB due to the different embeddedness of these organization in democratic versus economic powers: “the egalitarian voting system of the UN and the economically weighted system of the Bretton Woods institutions have created a substantial philosophical gap between these two types of multilateral institutions. The latter have accepted the defense of the principles of the market economy above any other type of principle, including ethical ones” (Clair 2004, op. cit. p. 188).
- 5.
In the newsletter it is typically argued that “In the community of nations, governance is considered “good” and “democratic” (my emphasis) to the degree in which a country’s institutions and processes are transparent. Its institutions refer to such bodies as parliament and its various ministries. Its processes include such key activities as elections and legal procedures, which must be seen to be free of corruption and accountable to the people. A country’s success in achieving this standard has become a key measure of its credibility and respect in the world. Good governance promotes equity, participation, pluralism, transparency, accountability and the rule of law, in a manner that is effective, efficient and enduring. In translating these principles into practice, we see the holding of free, fair and frequent elections, representative legislaturesthat make laws and provide oversight, and an independent judiciary to interpret those laws. The greatest threats to oood governance come from corruption, violence and poverty, all of which undermine transparency, security, participation and fundamental freedoms”.
- 6.
“The Oslo Governance Centre (OGC) works to position UNDP as a champion of democratic governance, both as an end in itself, and as a means to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This is done through knowledge networking and multi-disciplinary team work, as well as through close partnerships with leading policy and research institutions in different parts of the world” (01 Nov 12). The key areas of work are (op.cit): Conducting systematic analysis and reviews of UNDPs governance work around the globe aimed at learning from experiences in the field; based on the analysis and reviews, contributing to UNDP's programming and policy advisory services at the national, regional and global levels; supporting countries to conduct nationally owned and driven democratic governance assessments that serve to strengthen democratic governance at the country level. Addressing new and emerging areas of democratic governance and building the capacity of UNDP's front-line staff to address these new challenges” (op.cit).
- 7.
“This definition recognizes that power is essentially about relationships—between the state, social groups and individuals, or between the state, market forces and civil society. Unless we as development practitioners understand those relationships and the processes that change them, we will not be as effective in supporting the building of responsive, legitimate and resilient states”. And they go on to argue: “Against this background, the Oslo Governance Centre is developing an approach for political economy analyses specific to the UNDP mandate, in order to support programming and policy processes including the facilitation of multi-stakeholder dialogues based on a rigorous analysis of country contexts and ongoing events”.
References
Amadae SM (2003) Rationalizing capitalist democracy. The cold war origins of rational choice liberalism. Chicago University Press, Chicago and London
Bair J (2009) Taking aim at the new international economic order. In: Mirowski P, Plehwe D (eds) The road from Mont Pèlerin: the making of the neoliberal thought colllective. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Bevir M (2010) Democratic governance. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford
Brand U (2006) The Wolrd wide web of anti-neoliberalism. Emerging forms of post- fordist protest and the impossibility of global keynesianism. In: Plehwe D, Walpen B. (eds) Neoliberal Hegemony. A global critic. Routledge, New York and Abingdon
Bull B, Bøåas Morten, McNeill Desmond (2004) Private sector influence in multilateral system: a changing structure of world governance? Global Governace 10:481–498
Bøås M, Mcneill D (2003) Multilateral insitutions. A critical introduction. Pluto Press, London
Bøås M, Mcneill D (2004) Global institutions and development. Framing the World. Routledge, New York
Claes DH, Veem H, Tranøy BS (2012) Global økonomi, krise og politisk styring. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo
Claes DH et al. (2012) Global økonomi, krise og politisk strying. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo
Dahrendorf, R (1997) An der Schwelle sum autoritären Jahrhundert. Die Zeit, nr. 47, 14.11.1997
Ertmann T (1998) Democracy and dictatorship in interwar Western Europe revisited vol 50. World politics, pp 475–505
Evans P (2005) Harnessing the state: rebalancing strategies for monitoring and motivation. States and development. In: Lange M, Rueschemeyer D (eds) Historical antecedents of stagnation and advance. Palgrave McMillan, New York
Ficher K (2009) The influence of neoliberals in chile before, during and after pinochet. In: Mirowski P, Plehwe D (eds) The Road to Mont Pelerin. The making of the neoliberal thought collective. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Førde B et al (2010) A guide to UNDP democratic governance practice. UNDP, New York and Oslo
Granovetter M (1992) Economic action and social structure: the problem of embeddedness. In: Granovetter M, Swedberg R(eds) The sociology of economic life. Westview Press, Boulder
Grindle MS (2004) Good enough governance: poverty reduction and reform in developing countries. Gov: Int J Policy, Adm, Inst 17(4):525–548
Grindle MS (2007) Good enough governance revisited. Dev Policy Rev 25(5):553–574
Grunder C, Randeria S (2010) Gestaltung “Staatlicher” Policy im Schatten der Weltbank. In: Axel AP, Paul T (eds) Leviathan Sonderheft. Boike Rehnbein. VS Verlag, Berlin, p 26
Halvorsen T, Michelsen G G (2002) Good govenance and public sector reforms: the human rights consequences of structural adjusment programmes. In: HO Sano, Alfredsson G (eds) Human rights and good governance. Kluwer Law International, The Hague
Hyden G (1996) The economy of affection revisited: african development management in perspective. Improving natural resource management—the role of formal organisations and informal networks and institutions. In: Marcussen HS, Roskilde R University, p 17
Hydén G (ed ) (1998) Demokratisering i tredje världen. Studentlitteratur. Lund, Författarna och Studenlitteratur
Krippner, G. R. (2005) “The financialization of the American economy”. Socio -Economic Review, 3; 173 -208
Kjœr M, Kinnerup K (2002). How does good govenance relate to human rights. In: Sano HO, Alfredsson G (eds) Human right and good governance. Martinus Nijhoff Publisher, The Hague
Kjær AM (2004) Governance. UK and Malden, USA Polity Press, Cambridge
Kvamsås, H., Eirik Sjåvik og Heidi Lundehaug (2012). Velferdsvekst i krisetider. Latinamerikanske løsninger. (LAG). Oslo, LAG
March and Olsen (1995) Democratic Governance. Free Press. New York
McGrew, A (2007) Introduction. In Anthony McGrew and Nana K. Poku (eds.). Globalization, development and Human security. Polity Press. Maldon
Melim-McLeod C et al. (2012). Insitutional and context analysis. Guidance notes. Oslo Governace Centre and UNDP Democratic Governance Group, Oslo and Washington
Mirowski P, Plehwe D (2009) The making of the neoliberal thought collective. Harvard University Press, Cambridge and Massachusetts
O’Brian R, Goetz AM, Scholte JA, Williams M (2000) Contesting global governance. Multilateral Economic institutions adn Global social Movements. Cambridge Univesity Press, Cambridge
Offe C (2011) Crisis and Inovation if Liberal Democracy: Can Deliberation Be intistutionalised? Socilogický ústav (Praha), pp 447–472
Plehwe D (2011) Transnational discourse coalition and monetary policy: Argentina and the limited powers of the “Washington Consensus”. Critical Policy Stud 5(2):127–148
Plehwe D, Walpen B, Neunhöfer G (ed) (2006) Neoliberal hegemony. A global critique. Routledge, New york and Abingdon
Rueschemeyer D, Stephens EH, Stephens JD (1996) Capitalist development and democracy. Polity Press, Oxford
Sable CF (2001) Eine stille Revolution demokratischer Gouvernanz: auf dem Weg su einem demorkatischen Experimentalismus. Governance im 21. Jahrhundert. In: B. S. Michalski (ed) OECD, Paris, pp 145–179
Scholte JA (2012) Poor people in rich countries: the role of global governance. Glob Soc Policies 12(1):3–23
Skarstein, R. (2008). Økonomi på en annen måte. Makt og penger fra europeisk føydalisme til global kapitalisme. abstrakt forlag, Oslo
St Clair AL (2004) The role of ideas in the united nations development programme. Global insitutions and development. Framing the World. In: Bøås M, Mcneill D. Routledge
St.Clair AL (2003) Poverty conception in the United Nations development programme and the World Bank: knowledge. Politics, and ethics. Department of Sociology. Faculty of Social Science, University of Bergen, Polit/PhD
Streeck W (2011) The crises of democratic capitalism. New Left Review 71:5–29 (Sept Oct 2011)
Streeck W (2012) How to study contemporary capitalism? Arch Europe Sosical 53(1):1–28
Tilly, C (1998) Durable Inequality. University of California Press. Berkeley
Trondal J, Marcussen M, Larsson T, Veggeland F (2010) Unpacking international organisations. Manchester University Press, Manchester
World Bank (1991) Managing development: the governance dimension. T. W. Bank. The World Bank, Washington
World Bank (1992) Govvernance and development. The World Bank, Washington D.C
World Bank (2002) Annual Report. World Bank. Washington D.C
World Bank (2006) Global development fiancé – the development potential of surging capital flows”. World Bank. Washington D.C
World Bank (2007) The annual report 2007. World Bank annual reports. Washington
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Halvorsen, T. (2013). Good Governance and the Global Economic Crises: A New Opportunity for UNDP? Comparing WB and UNDP Good Governance Rhetoric. In: Jamil, I., Askvik, S., Dhakal, T. (eds) In Search of Better Governance in South Asia and Beyond. Public Administration, Governance and Globalization, vol 3. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7372-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7372-5_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7371-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7372-5
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)