Governance, Good

This article argues that despite the fact that “good governance” has acquired a very particular set of meanings within the international development community, this remains an inherently contested and political concept. It traces the emergence of a good governance agenda within international development—and particularly within the World Bank—and identifies the important shifts that have occurred in this agenda since the late 1980s. It then examines the links between this agenda and international aid, tracing the changing forms of aid conditionality that have been used to discipline countries of the global South as attempts to measure and deliver “good governance” on the ground have evolved. It questions whether it is practical or realistic to expect Southern countries to fundamentally change their patterns of governance through internationally sponsored programs primarily aimed at civil service reform, and also questions understandings of the process of reform within international development community that are geographically and historically deficient. Finally, although the World Bank's power to project its view of “good governance” may be waning, it argues that critical examination of the governance agendas of international development agencies, and context-rich understandings of how governance change occurs, remain key tasks for engaged geographical research.