THE GOVERNANCE AGENDA

Making Democratic Development

Dispensable
 GOOD GOVERNANCE

“The manner in which power is exercised

in the management of a country's economic
and social resources for development"
[World Bank 1992:3].

Key Dimensions -
• Public sector management (capacity and efficiency)
• Accountability
• The legal framework for development
• Information and transparency
 UNIVERSAL GOALS,
PARTICULAR CONSTRAINTS

• Good Governance reduces the question of

political constraints on development to
differences of culture.
• Instead of conceptualizing development in the
context of culture, it is just treating culture as a
static.
• In a way good governance is an attempt to
institutionalize orientalism.
 PUTTING THE STATE OUT

• Even capitalist markets need government to provide

infrastructure for economic activities.
• There is a messiness due to the simultaneous insistence
on the minimal state and on good governance.

Autonomy or Democracy?
• On one hand, to achieve economic growth, governance
demands a lean state with expanded capacity – a state
with autonomy.
• On the other hand, , the good governance package
explicitly includes democratization
 POLITICS OUTLAWED

• Based on governance’s definition of politics,

governance & politics are posited mutually
exclusive.
• Governance based on political conditionality is
basically governance interfering in the
sovereignty of
• nations.
• The definition of good governance in a
particular society must be the product of
consensus
 DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT
& GOOD GOVERNANCE

Relationship between democracy and development:

Does democracy lead to development ?
• Soft Authoritarian Asian countries could show economic
development while formally democratic India couldn’t.
Does economic liberalisation lead to Democratization?
• It creates two-track polities
Value of Good Governance:
• Is it an instrument of economic growth or it has inherent value?
• If it has inherent value, it should be interrogated politically.
• Participation is promoted by governance to enable development by
making everyone stake holders. On the other hand, governance
marginalises politics. Therefore, the governance agenda appears to
espouse definitions of politics, of democracy and of participation.
 ADRIAN LEFTWICH’S
PREFERENCE

Democratic
Developmental
States
Non-
democratic
Developmental
States
Democratic
Non-
developmental
States

Development >
 CONCLUSION

• Any delinking of politics and democracy is

artificial
• If the democracy can not be made to order, nor
can development.
• Development & Democracy should be
approached differently.
• Not just the state, but also society and social relations
should be democratized
• Development should focus on the enlargement of human
capabilities and the enhancement of the quality of life for
all citizens

POLITICS OF A STATE CAN’T BE