Distinguishing Government vs. Governance
📌 Many students confuse Government (the entity/administration) with Governance (the method or process of governing).
🧐 The basic dictionary definition implies Government is the administration, and Governance is the management of that administration, but the modern concept is much deeper.
🏛️ The concept of Governance emerged strongly in the 1980s amid calls for reform, challenging the failures of the "big government" era.

The Emergence and Core of Governance
💡 The term Governance gained prominence following the 1989 World Bank report, "Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth."
🌐 This report defined governance as the "exercise of political power to manage a nation's affairs," shifting focus from state-only control.
👥 Governance fundamentally involves three key interacting actors in managing public affairs: the State, the Market, and Society.

Key Characteristics of Governance
🌐 Multi-Actor Recognition: Public affairs are no longer solely the domain of the government; the market and society possess equal legitimacy and authority to be involved.
🤝 Horizontal Relationships: Interactions between actors are horizontal and autonomous, moving away from the traditional, dominant vertical relationship typical of government administration.
🎯 Consensus Building: The primary goal of governance is achieving mutual consensus through negotiation and dialogue, rather than relying solely on top-down regulation.

Application in Public Decision Making
🏭 In a Government approach to building a factory, the state unilaterally decides and enforces the decision via regulation.
🗣️ Under Governance, building the factory requires opening avenues for participation from environmental groups, academics, affected communities, and society to reach a collective decision.
🚫 Decisions made unilaterally without participation or external control are often termed "bad governance."

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Future public administrators must avoid egoistic decision-making and actively open participatory spaces for other societal actors.
➡️ Good Governance is not just abstract principles but a real-world dynamic relationship requiring continuous public engagement in policy-making.
➡️ Graduates entering any sector must recognize their right and responsibility to influence how public affairs are managed within the community.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Nov 10, 2025, 02:39 UTC