Towards a Philosophy of Good Governance

Abstract

Until recently, contemporary political theory has had little to say about topics of ‘governance’. Over the last century, the discipline has investigated the ‘why’ of government: debating its aims largely in terms of social justice. The discipline has also investigated thoroughly the ‘who’ of government: debating who, if anyone, should have state authority, and the right to coerce citizens. However, it has largely neglected, the ‘how’, that is how government should be institutionalised, and how its agents should act when implementing the policies determined by its leadership when using discretion. It is missing a developed philosophy of bureaucracy, administration, institutions, citizen trust, public service ethics and the executive branch. It is missing a theory of ‘good governance.’ Of course exceptions to this general neglect within philosophy exist. However, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the relative absence of philosophical interest in the topic of good governance, other disciplines and practitioners have moved into the domain. Political scientists, economists, lawyers, development specialists and public administration thinkers have developed conceptions of good governance that have been deployed as normative standards in real world public policy. This panel aims to engage this multi-disciplinary literature; drawing upon their insights but also aiming to demonstrate the value of bringing philosophical analysis into play.

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