The Capacity to Govern : A Report to the Club of Rome

The inadequacies of contemporary forms of governance are increasingly recognized: the brain drain from politics, distrust of governments, the danger of mass media and money-dominated elections, and the failure of governments to find good policy options on major issues. Industry, civil society and non-governmental organizations, however important, cannot compensate for government's incapacity to shape the future, which only it is democratically entitled to do. Radical improvements in governance are urgently needed, but salient proposals are scarce. This book diagnoses contemporary governments as obsolete and proposes changes in values, structures, staffing, public understanding and political culture to equip governance for the radically novel challenges of the 21st century. This is the first Report dealing with governance commissioned and approved by the Club of Rome, testifying to the significance of this book. This Book Is Essential Reading For Political Science, International Relations And Public Law Scholars And Students, Introducing Them To The Radically New World Of Politics And Governance In The Twenty-first Century.--jacket. Foreword / Ricardo Diez-hochleitner -- Leitmotif: Redesigning Governance For Guiding Global Transformations -- Mission: Improving Capacities To Govern -- Foundations In Political Philosophy -- The Problematic -- Unprepared Societies And Obsolete Governance -- Predicaments And Opportunities -- Political Culture Obstacles -- Redesign Requirements -- Gearing For Higher-order Tasks -- A 'feature Model' Of High-quality Governance -- The Resolution -- Approaches To Redesign -- Fostering Raison D'humanite -- Virtues Against Vices -- Empowering The People With Public Affairs Enlightenment -- Refashioning Governance Elites -- On Rulership -- Deepening Policy Reflection -- Qualifying In 'fuzzy-gambling' -- Improving The Central Minds Of Government -- Restructuring Governance Architecture -- Governing Private Power -- Making Global Governance More Resolute -- Augmenting Oversight -- Gearing Governance For Crises -- Strengthening The Autonomy Of High-quality Government -- Finale: Governance Redesign Pending A Quantum Leap. Yehezkel Dror. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 224-251) And Index. The author believes that "the inadequacies of contemporary forms of governance are increasingly recognized: the brain drain from politics, distrust of governments, the danger of mass media and money-dominated elections, and the failure of governments to find good policy options on major issues. Industry, civil society, and non-governmental organizations, however important, cannot compensate for government's incapacity to shape the future, which only it is democratically entitled to do ... This book diagnoses contemporary governments as obsolete and proposes changes in values, structures, staffing, public understanding, and political culture to equip governance for the radically novel challenges of the 21st century"--Publisher marketing