Between Government and Governance: Opening the Black Box of the Transformation Thesis

The notion of going from government to governance, known as the transformation thesis, as depicted in early Governance Theory has been subjected to substantive critique. This paper explores two different stances of such critique. The first critical stance is represented by Jonathan S. Davies’ 2011 book “Challenging Governance Theory: From networks to hegemony” and entails a radical rejection of the transformation thesis. The second stance offers a more moderate reconfiguration of the transformation thesis and is represented by the recently co-authored work of several prominent governance theorists titled “Interactive Governance: Advancing the paradigm”. While both aspire to set new agendas for governance research, this paper argues that the latter reconfiguration carries a problematic preposition towards overemphasizing the separation between government and governance practices.     

Past as global trade governance prelude: reconfiguring debate about reform of the multilateral trading system

This paper peers backwards into the history of the multilateral trading system and its development over the past half century as a means of considering what may lie beyond the horizon for the future of global trade governance. Its purpose is to underscore the necessity and urgency for root-and-branch reform of the multilateral trading system. It achieves this by comparing and contrasting the global trading system of 50 years ago with its modern-day equivalent and its likely future counterpart half-a-century hence. In so doing, the paper throws into sharp relief not only the inadequacies of global trade governance today but also the damaging consequences of not fundamentally reforming the system in the near future, with a particular emphasis on the past, present and future development of the world’s poorest and most marginalised countries.     

The Public Management of Risk: The Case for Deliberating among Worldviews

This article argues that the public management of risk faces inherent "wicked issue" problems which are further accentuated in the context of the contemporary regulatory state. It is suggested that in order to overcome these limitations and inevitable trade-offs, there needs to be a more conscientious effort in setting out distinct components of any public management of risk, which should be considered and discussed through the lens of distinct worldviews contrasting interpretations and solutions, as well as potential "black-spots." It is only by acknowledging limitations of any one strategy and by considering plural solutions that there is less likelihood of disappointment when dealing with crises and disasters.     

全球治理中的跨国反洗钱台作

全球治理是国际社会应对全球问题而变革传统治理模式的一种构想,它的兴起为全球反洗钱控制与治理提供了重要的理论指导。在跨国反洗钱控制的全球治理模式中,国家和政府间、国际组织间的制度性合作机制仍然占据主导地位,发挥着不可替代的规范性与约束性的治理作用。但值得注意的是,非国家行为主体在跨国反洗钱的全球治理中日益发挥着越来越重要的促进作用和参与作用,并能在一定程度上缓解传统治理模式的＂民主赤字＂问题。     

从“救济”到“治理手段”？——当前农村低保政策的实践分析：以河南F县C镇为例

作为国家推行的一项福利政策,农村低保要实现对农村贫困人群的救助。然而,在现实中,低保政策经历了从“绝对贫困”到“相对贫困”、从以户为单位到以人为单位的扭曲和变通,以至低保政策在某种程度上成为了基层政权的一种治理手段,从而背离了政策的本意。事实上,低保政策执行中出现的种种问题既是监管力度不够及制度建设不到位所导致,更与税费改革后乡村组织的治理困境密切关联。在这个意义上,基层政权的治理状况既是保障低保政策能否顺畅执行的根本,也是一个现代国家基本治理能力强弱的重要体现。     

Contested geopolitical messages for tourists at the Okinawa Peace Park and memorials

Abstract

Now marketed as a tropical beach destination, Okinawa's identity is also forever linked with the horrors of war. Okinawa's tumultuous past encompasses the Ryukyu Islands, which had close economic ties to China until being annexed by mainland Japan, were invaded by the US in the Second World War, were occupied until 1972 and, more recently, have become the centre of heated debates over the continued presence of US military bases. The Battle of Okinawa was one of the bloodiest of the Second World War and the inhabitants faced not only the American invasion but also the tactics of the Japanese army, who viewed the islands as expendable in order to slow invading forces from reaching mainland Japan. In the context of the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa in 2015, and beyond, it is argued here that these conflicting geopolitical disputes present significant challenges in terms of the messages presented to educational dark tourists visiting the Okinawa Peace Park and Memorials. The Peace Park Story Tellers or kataribe who are the Second World War survivors, have the critical task of mediating the message to both domestic and international tourists, some of whom are not prepared to hear anti-Japan sentiment. Through an examination of the historical and geographic background, and an analysis of the tourist experience at the Peace Park and Memorials, this paper explores the complexity of educational dark tourism where competing messages collide.     

Accounting Reform in Italy and Perceptions on the Local Government Consolidated Report

The article aims to explore the perception of local government (LG) financial officers on the users, the uses, and the utility of the consolidated financial report in Italy, since it was one of the first countries to expressly provide for compulsory adoption. A questionnaire was sent to a statistical stratified sample of LG, collecting 133 responses (response rate 17%). The results, tested through the structural equation model we observe that social legitimization pressure rather than accountability patterns or performance analysis drive more the adoption process. The evidence indicates that the report is perceived as a potential tool for pursuing performance assessment strategies in a group context. However, this potentiality depends on the coordination effort made by the LG. The article finds out the rise of the topic of the public governance and the role of coordinating the local public group.     

Why madrassah education reforms don’t work in Pakistan

Despite global pressure and national security concerns, the efforts of the Government of Pakistan to reform the madrassah system have proven to be futile. Extant literature on madrassah reform challenges relies overwhelmingly on information provided by governments and experts situated outside of these institutions. While these studies and reports present important findings and viable analysis on madrassah systems; most of the research fails to give voice to the major stakeholders of this system itself, such as the administration staff, teachers, students and parents. Our study fills this crucial gap by conducting semi-structured interviews and field observations inside Pakistani madaris (plural for madrassah) and their professional associations. We find that these madaris have been reluctant to participate in policy interventions offered by the government due to a major trust deficit brought on by differences over financial and curriculum regulation, degree recognition and the government’s role in shaping popular perceptions about madaris. This reluctance has turned down attempts for madrassah reformation and has in turn made them vulnerable to radicalisation. We conclude with policy recommendations for more effective government reforms and a stronger relationship between madrassah representatives and the Government of Pakistan.     

The Relational Dynamics of World Bank Survey Missions

This article demonstrates that World Bank internal learning has led to significant changes in how the organization interacts with government officials through survey missions. Reviewing evidence of institutional learning and associated changes in practice and focusing on the relational modes being manifest in technical assistance, the article identifies three main phases of World Bank survey missions: general survey missions (1940s–1960s), country assistance strategies (1990s–2000s), and country partnership frameworks (2010s). Overall, World Bank reviews have repeatedly highlighted the importance of non-hierarchical interactions between Bank staff and country officials. In recent years, practice has begun to catch up with these operational insights.     

The Greening of the Americas

ABSTRACT

This paper evaluates global capital’s ecological management and extends the assessment to the “green economy,” as developed in the first “green” neoliberal project, in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has been an important “laboratory” for experimentation in environmental governance mechanisms using debt-for-nature financial exchanges and other instruments of the Kyoto Protocol. I explore how “greening” can be understood as a new phase of capital accumulation, as I go into its five main aspects.