Preface and Acknowledgments; List of Contributors; 1 Governance as Theory, Practice, and Dilemma; SECTION I Theories of Governance; 2 Policy Network Theory; 3 Rational Choice Theory; 4 Interpretive Theory; 5 Organization Theory; 6 Institutional Theory; 7 Systems Theory; 8 Metagovernance; 9 State-Society Relations; 10 Policy Instruments and Governance; 11 Development Theory; 12 Measuring Governance; SECTION II Practices of Governance; 13 The Stateless State; 14 The Persistence of Hierarchy; 15 Contracting Out; 16 Public Management; 17 Budgeting and Finance; 18 Partnerships.

While the verb "to govern" and the noun "government" are well established terms, "governance" is relatively new to social science vocabulary. What does "it" mean? Mark Bevir's Handbook of Governance is a welcomed contribution to a clearer understanding of this emerging seminal concept. Drawing on some of the best 21st century minds in this field, his Handbook is probative and exploratory, one that wrestles with the basic theory, modern practice, and central dilemmas of "governance". Readers are thus treated to profound and urgently needed insights into its meaning and significance today."-