Governing the Formation and Mobilization of Governance Networks

Abstract

This chapter is motivated by a specific concern over the capacity of contemporary (network) governance studies¹ to critically address the governing of networks. This concern is nurtured by the proximity between the problem space informing contemporary political action, on the one hand, and the theoretical imagery informing governance studies, on the other. When politicians, civil servants, business managers, NGOs and concerned citizens’ attempt to explain the existence and justify the need for mobilizing governance networks, they often provide a set of explanations that, I think, are remarkably close to those provided by contemporary governance studies. Perhaps the reader will agree that in contemporary society, narratives of the following type are encountered quite commonly:

• • Because society has grown increasingly complex, public problems cannot be solved by the state alone. Without drawing on the knowledge and resources of diverse public-and private actors, state action is doomed to failure.

• • While the market may serve as an excellent mechanism for solving information-demanding problems, it is incapable on its own of providing satisfactory solutions to a wide range of collective problems, such as social and economic inequality and environmental problems.

• • It is therefore necessary to include and stimulate the participation and interaction of a wide range of state, market and civil society actors in order to provide legitimate and effective solutions to contemporary problems.