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Good Enough Governance Revisited - 2007

Author: M S Grindle
Date: 2007
Size: 22 pages (34 KB)

Summary

Given limited resources of money, time, knowledge and capacity, what are the best ways to move towards better governance in a particular country? This article from the Development Policy Review argues that the concept of good enough governance falls short as a tool to guide decisions in real world contexts. Rather the feasibility of particular interventions can be assessed by analysing the context for change and the implications of the content of the intervention being considered.

Good enough governance means that interventions thought to contribute to development need to be prioritised and made relevant to the conditions of individual countries. However, there is a gap between concept and practice - between the general mandate to improve governance and the dilemmas facing those designing interventions. This is particularly noticeable in addressing the conflict-ridden and often illegitimate status of fragile states. Debates continue over the definition of good governance and over measurement, indicators and inference.

Large cross-country analyses tend to find consistent correlations between development and good governance. Country case studies, on the other hand, tend to demonstrate that development is not dependent on ‘getting governance right’. Meanwhile, problem driven research accepts that governance is important to development and addresses problems created for governance by particular conditions.
Questions about statistical and historical inference remain unresolved. The current agenda is additive rather than analytical, leaving practitioners with long lists of things to do but little guidance on how to choose among them.
The World Bank, UNDP and DFID play a sensitive role in translating often ambiguous research into the practice of good governance. While they have contributed to misguiding practice, such organisations increasingly acknowledge the importance of contextual realities and the content of governance programmes.

Combining analysis of context and content can inform difficult choices on where to put scarce resources to achieve better governance.

Two analytical frameworks can help identify interventions that are appropriate for specific situations, one focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of states, and one providing insights into the sources of change that might exist.
Governance objectives can be disaggregated into contributing characteristics, such as effective police organisations and conflict resolution. Actions to achieve these vary in practical application. Some take more time, some are administratively complex, and some require more behavioural change.
Interventions to achieve the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) can also be categorised in terms of factors that contribute to the ease or difficulty of their achievement. Inevitably, uneven capacity will become increasingly apparent in the effort to achieve some of the goals.
Good political economy seeks ways of bringing analyses of context and content to bear on the process of reform. Each phase of the reform process can be viewed as an arena in which characteristics of the context and content of the initiative come into play.

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Source: Grindle, M., 2007, 'Good Enough Governance Revisited', Development Policy Review, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 533-574
Author: Merilee Grindle , merilee_grindle@harvard.edu