Good governance and democracy

Abstract

One of the stimulating challenges to political theory posed by recent history is the embodiment in supra-national and international institutions of a general concept of (good) "govemance". This concept raises a number of questions related to its meaning and to the conception of the political sphere it expresses. Other questions arise conceming the legitimacy of its institutional implementations. On the one hand, classical democratic ideals commit us to the respect of popular voice, no matter the direction it takes, provided it is compatible with human rights and a number of constitutional rules. On the other hand, abuses of political power as well as common economic and technological challenges leave one with a feeling of urgent need for international or supranational organization or, at least, coordinated network actions. The concept of governance is thus at the crossroads of substantive goals (growth and development, for example) and procedural preoccupations - especially respect for democratic voice at the national level. Concems of both types prove essential to the legitimacy of political institutions. The starting point of this volume has been the hypothesis that our new commitment to "governance" norms is interlocked with the emergence of new models of legitimate political action and state regulation. These questions have been addressed with a view to illuminating the real functioning of "govemance" norms in intemational or supranational contexts such as the EU and the WTO.