GOOD GOVERNANCE AND GOOD ENOUGH GOVERNANCE

GOOD GOVERNANCE

RESOURCE MATERIALS

Good governance in South Asia: Constraints and possibilities by Dr. Nasira Jabeen & Dr. Zafar Iqbal Jadoon

Recent transition in governance in South Asia: contexts, dimensions and implications by Shams-ul-Haq

Human development in South Asia 1999 by Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq

INTRODUCTION

Administrative reformsCentral themesDivergent viewsUN World Summit 2005Vitality of Good GovernanceEradication of poverty and hunger

FROM GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNANCE

Synonymous to GovernmentContinuous evolution new meaningProcess of governing the societyOutcome of Paradigmatic shiftEmerging neo-liberal statePractical manifestationsTools of NPM

GOOD GOVERNANCE AS A CONCEPT

Originally born out of donors’ frustrationIneffective management of aidCoincided with the shiftCatch all phraseInternational development agenciesGuided reform agenda

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND EVOLUTION OF GOVERNANCE

Shift started taking place in late 1980sFirstly in advanced countriesGradually took over South Asia

THE FIRST PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT

Began in 1950Till later part of 1960sKeynesian economicsFocused on transfer of capital and

technical expertiseEconomic growthDevelopment plans and projectsGovernment and public sector major

roleTrickle down to poor

SECOND PHASE

In late 1960sFailure of first phaseAdoption of poverty reduction approachInvestment in human capitalSectoral strengthening approach

THIRD PHASE

End of 1970s Neo-liberal dominancePrivate and non-government organizations’

involvement Government was no more the sole playerStructural adjustment programsPotential partner in the process of

governance

FOURTH PHASE

Took place in 1990sDr. Mahbub-ul-Haq defined developmentPolitics and development are not

dichotomous activitiesIntegral forceSocial change in behavior and focus of

developmentInvolvement of people in process of

development

Good Governance

Sources: Good Enough Governance Revisited

By:Merilee S. Grindle Asian Profile: Vol. 37 June 2009 Pakistan Management Review:2008

“Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and

promoting development.”

(UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan)

Good Governance

The World Bank

“Inclusiveness and accountability established in three key areas:

‘selection, accountability and replacement of authorities (voice and accountability; stability and lack of violence);

efficiency of institutions, regulations, resource management (regulatory framework; government effectiveness);

respect for institutions, laws and interactions among players in civil society, business, and politics (control of corruption; rule of law)”

Department for International Development (DFID):

Defines good governance by focusing on four major components namely:

legitimacy (government should have the consent of the governed);

accountability (ensuring transparency, being answerable for actions and media freedom);

competence (effective policymaking, implementation and service delivery); and

respect for law and protection of human rights.

IMF

“Ensuring the rule of law, improving the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption”.

The Human Development Center (HDC):

“Good governance from the standpoint of humane development and reformulated the concept of governance as humane governance encompassing three governance arenas, political, economic, civic.”

Core Values ofGood Governance

Participation Rule of law Transparency Responsiveness Consensus orientation Equity Effectiveness and efficiency Accountability Strategic vision

Constraints to Good Governance

1)Rule of Law

The term refers to the extent rules are abide by and implemented to all citizens of a state on an equal basis.

The rule of law is a major impediment to good governance in South Asia.

Poverty:

Poverty profile of South Asia shows that both in terms of income and opportunities poverty has increased in the entire region.Growing poverty creates distrust of poor people in the governance process and they dissociate themselves from political and social activities which further restrict their participation in governance.

Corruption and Nepotism:

Corruption defined as unfair use of public resources for personal gains is viewed as a major hindrance in South Asia.

It is pervasive at individual, organizational, and state level.

Nepotism is also a common occurrence in South Asia. Family, sectarian, ethnic, regional connections are often the basis for appointments while ignoring the principle of merit and equality of opportunity.

Divided Society:

Society in South Asian countries is deeply divided on the basis of ethnicity, religion, caste, class and gender

These divisions ultimately promote a culture of conflicts, violence, hatred, and mistrust among public and the governing bodies.

Militarism:

South Asia is a highly militarized, volatile and vulnerable region of the world. India and Pakistan, two large countries of the region are the world nuclear powers and continually spend on building nuclear weapons to maintain deterrence for each other. People of Pakistan and India are finally the victims of militarism in the region

Managerial Capacity:

The quality of governance in a country depends on the governing capacity of state, private and civil society organizations.Good governance requires leadership and managerial capacity beyond good management.It is imperative that public administrators have the required skills to efficiently manage modern tools employed in governance at the same time, private sector and civil society organizations also needs to understand the dynamics of public services and learn to be responsive to the society.

Research and Local Knowledge:

Good governance requires a good understanding of the institutional and cultural context of governance and policy dialogue.

Creation of local knowledge is not possible without original research in universities and research institutions outside universities.

Lack of research and local knowledge are major constraints on good governance in South Asia.

 

Possibilities forGood Governance

From Good Governance to

Good Enough Governance(2000-2010)

Each country or region has a historical or cultural context of governance.

It has been argued that a general and universal application of the concept of good governance across countries may have unintended and serious consequences for people especially poor.

Failure due to misgovernance in South Asia: Social Action Program (SAP) in Pakistan Privatization policy of Pakistan during the

1990s

Limitations of the generic notion of good governance recognized by Merilee Grindle (2004) and argued for Good Enough Governance for poverty reduction and reform in developing countries.

The concept of Good Enough Governance, though still in its infancy, represents a strong case for contextualizing or indigenizing the notion of good governance in the developing world, to set realistic and achievable reform objectives for each country.

Generic notion Contextual

Good Governance Good Enough Governance

The question such as what is Good Enough Governance for a specific country with similar institutional context?

Where it begins from and where does it ends?

How it should be measured?

In order to answer these questions, it is important that state of human development, governance and cultural context of South Asia as a region and each country be properly understand and described for the application of the concept to the region.

Human Development, Governance and Culture in South Asia:

Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan.

Similarities Objectives, Structures, Functions, Attitudes and Standards of governing bodies

despite variations in the form of government

Differences

Size, Living standards, Population Levels of income

Lowest group of countries in terms of human development and quality of

governance

State of Human Development

The HDI comprise of 3 components

Life expectancy at birth

Educational attainment

Income

Human Development Index for South Asia

Country HDI value 2010

Rank in

South Asia

Rank in the world 2004

Rank in the world 2010

Sri Lanka 0.658 1 93 91

Maldives 0.602 2 98 107

India 0.519 3 126 119

Pakistan 0.490 4 134 125

Bhutan - 5 135 126

Bangladesh 0.469 6 137 129

Nepal 0.428 7 138 138

State of Governance

Three Governance assessment exercises, HGI, WGA, WGI Humane Governance Index (HGI)

World Governance Assessment (WGA)

World Governance Indicators (WGI)

By Dr. Mahbub ul Haq

Out of 58 countries Pakistan was ranked at 52.

In 2002 under WGI project, 16 countries were surveyed, and on 7 point scale, Pakistan’s average score was 2.17.

WGI launched by World Bank. The Governance percentile of South Asia on 6 Governance indicators is low ranging from 26 to 39.

Governance and Culture

Cultural values of a society, region or country are reflected in its institutional, organizational and individual behavior.

The universally accepted Governance values such as participation, accountability, transparency, efficiency, decency and fairness are not compatible with the cultural context of many developing countries including South Asian countries, which may best be characterized by authoritarianism, elitism, nepotism, paternalism, sectarianism, extremism and feudalism.

Therefore the concept Good Governance needs to be indigenized in view of the cultural and contextual requirements of each country.

The basic premise is that, states vary considerably in terms of their capacities ad strengths; therefore a generic notion of Good Governance may not suggest a viable solution to their problems. So contrary to a generic notion of Good Governance, the concept of Good Enough Governance allows for researchers, policy makers and international agencies to determine a minimum acceptable level of Good Governance within historical, institutional and cultural context of each country.

Framework for Good Enough Governance: by Grindle

5.Types of states1. collapsed, 2. personal rule, 3. minimally institutionalized,4. institutionalized non competitive5. and institutionalized competitive states.

Setting priority areas for governance reforms such as Personal safety, conflict resolution, provision of

basic and administrative services, access to justice, open decision making ad accountability etc

characteristics 1. institutional stability, 2. organizational capacity, 3. degree of state legitimacy 4. and type of policies in place

CONCLUSION

TIME PERIOD DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM

NATURE OF STATEPUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION PARADIGM

1947-1960 TRADITIONAL (KEYNESIAN CONSENSUS)

DEVELOPMENT STATE DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

1970-1980 ISLAMIC SOCIALISMLOCAL BRAND

SOCIALIST STATE DEVELOPMENT ENTERPRISE (SOE’S)

1980-1990 NEO-LIBERAL NEO-LIBERAL STATE DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT (NPM)

1990-2000 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

RESPONSIVE NEO-LIBERAL STATE

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND GOOD ENOUGH

GOVERNANCE

2000-2010 INCLUSIVE GROWTH RESPONSIVE NEO-LIBERAL STATE

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND GOOD ENOUGH

GOVERNANCE

South Asia's crisis of governance

South Asia is replete with examples of poor governance

Inefficient deployment of resourcesCrippling debt burdens Social divisions drawn on ethnic and

sectarian linesArbitrary law enforcement and failed political

leadership

THESE QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED

Do people fully participate in governance?Are people fully informed?Do the people make decisions, or can they at least

hold the decision-makers accountable?Are women equal partners with men in governance?Are the needs of the poor and disadvantaged met?Are people’s human rights guaranteed?Are the needs of the future generations taken into

account in current policies?In short, do people own their structure of

governance?

GOOD GOVERNANCE CRITERIA

“With humane governance people are the ultimate end of governance…. We must try to reflect the people’s values and aspirations- only then we can achieve an innovative breakthrough”