Information of the Chapter:

Chapters Name: The Normative Roots of Governance Theories: Prospects and Challenges from
Bangladesh Perspective
Authors Name: Sk. Tawfique M. Haque
Number of Pages:20
Main Objective of this Chapter: To elaborate the normative roots of governance theories and
relate those in the context of Bangladesh.
Keywords: Governance, Democracy, Development, UNDP, Participation, Transparency, World
Bank, Civil Society, Bangladesh, Governance Theories.

This chapter deals with the governance, western models of governance, good governance, shift
from good governance to democratic governance, governance theories: experience of Bangladesh.
Governance is not a finished product but a dynamic concept. It encompasses fast-changing
political, social and economic environment, along with exogenous factors including international
environment and conditions of operational governance. At the micro- level, the term governance
has different understandings to different people. At the macro level, this concept has multiple
theories to conceptualize the notion. According to Pierre and peters(2000), the concept of
governance ‘is notoriously slippery' and Schneider (2004)comments that the conceptual vagueness
of the term is the ‘secret of its success'.
The major objective of this chapter is to elaborate the normative roots of governance theories and
relate those in the context of Bangladesh. It is important that we discuss about the normative roots
of theories from two grounds. First, to help analyze the background of the emergence of these
theories in the context of developing countries like Bangladesh. This chapter also discuss how
these theories of governance are evolved and expanded historically by European and Western
thinkers as well as different multilateral aid agencies in recent times. The importance of
understanding governance theories relies on the increasing complexity of the relationships among
different actors involved in governance, i.e., the state, civil society and private sector. The aid
agencies driven paradigm and the academic paradigm. The aid agency – driven paradigm has
focused on state-market relations and more specifically on technical side such as better
management, state capacity both in policy formulation and facilitating implementation etc. In
contrast, the academic paradigm of governance has largely been concerned with developing a
better understanding of different ways in which power and authority relations are structured in
different contexts.

1|Page
The Academic Perspectives of Governance
From the academic perspectives of governance has a long history. The political philosophies of
different civilizations of history tried to explain improved forms and functions of government
according to their contexts. The western models of governance, these political theories of
government were widely discussed and used by different nations. Today these Western models
influence government mechanisms of modern States. In Western theories, governance is perceived
as the reflection of functions democracy. In these theories the term ‘governance’ and ‘democracy’
are been equated.
The Western Models of Governance
This section describes some important Western theories of governance from ancient Greek to the
present era. The aim is to derive key features of democracy. The main streams of these theories
are based on different models of democracy. Democracy entails a state in which there is some form
of political equality among the people. In the following we will discuss four major models of
democracy according to their historical chronology. (Hell,1998:2)
1.Classical Democracy: Model of Athens
Etymologically, governance can be traced back to the Greek verb kubernan and was used by Plato
with regard to how to design a system of rule. The Greek term gave rise to the medieval Latin
gubernare, which has the same connotation of piloting, rule-making or steering.
In the fifth century BC, Athens emerged as the pre-eminent ‘city-state’ or polis among many rival
Greek powers. The development of democracy in Athens has formed a central source of inspiration
for modern political thought Its political ideals-equality among citizens, liberty, respect for the law
and Justice -have shaped political thinking in the West through the ages.
For the thinkers of classical democracy, liberty and equality, according to Aristotle, are very much
linked. There are two criteria of liberty:

A. ruling and being ruled in turn

B. living as one chooses

2.Protective Democracy: The historical changes affected greatly the medieval notions of politics
in Europe. Struggles between monarchs and barons, peasant rebellions; the consolidation of
national monarchies; the struggle between church and state-all played a part. ( Held,1998:39)
Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) is treated as one of the pioneer theorists of this new era of political
thought. These developments introduced a new model of democracy which is referred as protective
democracy. Protective democracy emphasized the centrality of democratic institutions to
safeguard the governed or citizens from tyranny of all kinds and from oppressed by the state in
particular. (Held,1996:43)

2|Page
3.Development Democracy: The model of protective democracy stands in contrast to an
alternative position; a position which is concerned for the conditions of individuals moral and
social development. After reducing the important of old political and religious traditions, the
concerns for citizens involvement in government became influential. In this context, the idea of
‘developmental democracy ‘emerged which emphasized the role of democratic institutions for the
formation of an active, involved citizenry.
Rousseau in his fanons ‘The Social Contract ‘said that liberty and equality are inextricably linked.
For the social contract establishes equality among the citizens in that they must all enjoy the same
rights.
The democratic radicalism of Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, gave the idea of developmental
democracy its most liberal expression.
4. Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels(1820-95) relentlessly challenged the idea of a
‘neutral ‘liberal state and ‘free’ market economy. Un an industrial capitalist world the state could
never be neutral or the economy free. John Stuart Mill's liberal democratic state might claim to be
acting on behalf of all citizens.
Synthesis of Western models of governance
In the case of Rousseau and Mill it is argued that Rousseau ‘s radical conceptions of developmental
democracy and John Stuart Mill's liberal thought might function successfully in small scale
communities with limited access to citizenship in which politics was conducted in face-to-face
forum.
A comparative analysis below to show the basic characteristics of classical democracy,
development democracy and direct democracy:
Classical democracy deals with – Hostility to and skepticism about the power of monarchs and
princes, freedom and participation are closely linked; the business of government is the business
of citizens, A complete community depends on all economic functionaries fulfilling their
responsibilities while these are politically regulated and restricted.
Development democracy discuss about- Hostility to and scepticism about state power and
emphasis on the importance of a diversity of power centers, separation of state from civil society,
the state is an impersonal structure of power, Importance of markets as mechanisms for
coordinating diverse activities of producers and consumers.

Direct democracy deals with -Hostility to and scepticism about concentration of economic power
in private ownership of the means of production, restructuring of civil society transformation of
relations of production, The impersonality or neutrality of the state can only be achieved when its
autonomy is no longer compromised by capitalism.

3|Page
The Aid Agency ‘s Perspective of Governance
After the World War II a new set of financial institutions were formed initially to reconstruct the
economy of war-torn nations of capitalist block. At later stage these Bretton Woods Institutions
which are popularly known as World Bank, IMF became a major deciding factor for political
reform and economic development of the underdeveloped and developing countries.
In this context during the last decade of the twentieth century, the goal of good governance has
emerged high on the international agenda of international organizations and northern governments.
The two different models of governance prescribed by the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) and the World Bank will be discussed in the following section.
UNDP's Models of Good Governance
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has been at the forefront of the growing
international consensus that good governance and sustainable development are indivisible.
In this broad conceptualization, three types of governance are identified, which to varying degrees
are all subject to the influence of civil society and the private sector:
Economic governance includes decision -making processes that affect a country ‘s economic
activities and its relationship with other economics.
Political governance is the process of decision -making to formulate policy
Administrative governance is the system of policy implementation. Encompassing all three, good
governance defines the processes and structures that guide political and socio-economic
relationships.
Characteristics of Good Governance
In a policy document of UNDP, the following characteristics of good governance are identified:
Participation – All men and women should have a voice in decision -making, either directly or
through legitimate intermediate institutions that represent their interests.
Rule of law – legal framework should be fair and enforced impartially, particularly the laws on
human rights
Transparency – Transparency is built on the free flow of information, processes, institution and
information are directly accessible to those concerned with them and enough information is
provided to understand and monitor them.
Responsive – Institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders
Consensus Orientation – Good governance mediates differing interests to reach a broad
consensus on what is in the best interests of the group and where possible on policies and
procedures

4|Page
Equity – All men and women have opportunities to improve or maintain their well-being.
Effectiveness and efficiency – Processes and institutions produce results that meet needs while
making the best use of resources
Accountability– Decision -makers in government, the private sector and civil society
organizations are accountable to the public as well as to the institutional stakeholders
Shift from Good governance to Democratic governance
In 1990s UNDP report developed a policy agenda for humane governance dedicated to securing
human development along three lines:
First, structures and processes that support the creation of a participatory, responsive and
accountable polity
Second, a competitive, non-discriminatory and equitable economy
Third, a society in which people are given the ability to self organize
World Bank's Model of “Good Governance’’
The World Bank has identified three distinct aspects of governance:
i) the form of political regime
ii) the process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country ‘s economic and
social resources for development
iii) the capacity of governments to design, formulate and implement policies and discharge
functions
Governance Theories: Experience of Bangladesh
The long historical account of Bangladesh shows some real conflicting characteristics between
theory and practice. Conflicting situation between the theory and practice always prevailed in the
politics and governance of a country like Bangladesh. We will try to summarize the main
conflicting features of governance of Bangladesh:
a) The liberal democratic model assumes that the ruling elite participate in the system of
alterocracy
b) The liberal democratic model admits the plurality of society and guarantee from arbitrary
treatment and equality before the law in the form of political and civil rights and liberties,
those are connected to free speech, expression, association, voting and belief
c) The main characteristics of the state power must be impersonal, legally circumscribed

5|Page