Antonio Camou

La múltiple (in)gobernabilidad: elementos para un análisis conceptual

The main point of the text is that the notion of governance lacks clear analytical profiles. It attempts to explain this ambiguity in the use of the term through the combination, or rather juxtaposition, of different theoretical and value traditions, which have converged since long and which are currently fighting over the same semantic turf. These traditions include those of State reasons and their continuity in terms of the model of an effective government; the tradition of good government which began with Plato and Aristotles reflections and, finally, the tradition of the problem of political order and its continuity within the concern of contemporary political science (particularly in the United States) with political stability. The last section attempts to combine these different traditions in a minimal definition of governance to make this elusive yet important concept more operational or, at least, more manageable.