The Challenge of Good Governance

Governance has become a concept that includes more and more phenomena related to the steering of societal developments. The steering of developments had to be left to societal actors and had to be accomplished through networks in which hierarchy hardly played a role. The term “good governance” is abused by using so many indicators that it becomes nearly impossible to achieve good governance. At the same time, many governments but are also locked in conflicts of interests between trying to do the right things and doing the urgently needed things right. It is not self-evident that improving governance will result in a reduction of the societal and managerial problems. The innovations may provide short term responses to serious governance deficits, but may not provide long term solutions to them. This article addresses trade-offs and dilemmas in citizens’ responsibility for the development of policies were the basic right of each individual is respected while difficult choices can be made more democratically.