Abstract
This work aims to clarify, simplify and give some coherence to the discourse. It argues that the operation of the state in national and to some extent, international, economic activity in developing countries must be through effective governing structures and processes, or what is generally referred to as “good governance.” The principal objective is to identify and delimit the central features of what constitutes good governance. The article postulates four positions. First, that it is Herculean to have a value-free, all embracing, but workable definition of good governance. Second, that the idea of good governance does not owe its genesis to the international development institutions, nor to the post cold war era. Third, that there are differences and similarities between the concept, articulation and practice of governance before the late 1980s and the period thereafter. The final argument here is that governance is a principle which gives rise to appendages such as democracy, rule of law, effective bureaucracy, decentralization and discretion. In varying degrees, these elements may be needed and are also evidenced not only in an effective central political regime but also in sectoral economic management. For the purposes of practically and coherence, the energy industry would be used wherever an illustration or example is needed in this work.
Recommended Citation
Botchway, Frances N.
(2001)
"Good Governance: The Old, the New, the Principle and the Elements,"
Florida Journal of International Law: Vol. 13:
Iss.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/fjil/vol13/iss2/2