After two generations of emphasis on governmental inefficiency and the need for deregulation, we now see growing interest in the possibility of constructive governance, alongside public calls for new, smarter regulation. Yet there is a real danger that regulatory reforms will be rooted in outdated ideas. As the financial crisis has shown, neither traditional market failure models nor public choice theory, by themselves, sufficiently inform or explain our current regulatory challenges. Regulatory studies, long neglected in an atmosphere focused on deregulatory work, is in critical need of new models and theories that can guide effective policy-making. This interdisciplinary volume points the way toward the modernization of regulatory theory. Its essays by leading scholars move past predominant approaches, integrating the latest research about the interplay between human behavior, societal needs, and regulatory institutions. The book concludes by setting out a potential research agenda for the social sciences.

For more than a century Western democracies have struggled to keep faith with both economic efficiency and social justice. Yet reconciliation of these factors remains as baffling as ever. Among the many voices clamoring today for a theory of collective action, we hear most often of the great chasm between ?legitimacy? and ?efficiency?. It is the contention of the authors of this ground-breaking book that these antinomies can be seen as distinct ?moments of application? in the operation of normative judgement, and that a reflexive treatment of norms of collective action, by clarifying limitations in rules and beliefs, allows us to develop mechanisms to correct the limiting effects of such judgements and act accordingly. Drawing on and developing recent trends in the social sciences, The Action of Norms presents a powerful new theory of governance with far-reaching implications for the future of law, the judiciary, and justice itself. Among the contributing modern ideas that are explained and developed as pillars of the authors? thesis are the following: critiques of the ?political theory of interest groups?; the economic theory of efficiency; deliberative democracy; rational choice theory; the evolutionist debate; learning process theory; and the theory of risk. Lenoble and Maesschalck achieve a remarkable synthesis of relevant thought about forms of social organization?from Kant and Fichte through Hayek, Rawls, and Habermas to current theory?and place it at the service of a new and effective theory of the norm that promises to greatly elucidate the role of law and legal practice in the continuing development of democratic institutions.

The productive work of widely distributed academic research has contributed substantially, over the postwar period, to important advances in our understanding. It has also offered a clearer recognition of many unresolved problems. Never theless, the progress achieved over the last decades, ex hibited by the systematic application of "theory" to actual issues and observable problems, could not overcome a per vasive sense of dissatisfaction. Some academic endeavors pursued within a traditional range of economic analysis have appeared increasingly remote from broad social issues, motivating the social and intellectual unrest experienced in recent years. Conditioned by the traditional use of economic analysis, many have naturally concluded that the "most relevant" social issues agitating our times are beyond the reach of economics. Purist advocates of a traditional view thus condemn any extension of economic analysis to social issues as an escape into "ideology". Others argue the need for an "interdisciplinary approach" involving sociology, social psychology, or anthropology as necessary strands in a useful understanding of social, institutional, and human problems of contemporary societies. We note here, in par ticular, the subtle attraction inherent in Marxian thought. It appears to offer a unified approach, with a coherent inter pretation, to all matters and aspects of human society, in cluding even nature.

This book offers a major new theory of global governance, explaining both its rise and what many see as its current crisis. The author suggests that world politics is now embedded in a normative and institutional structure dominated by hierarchies and power inequalities and therefore inherently creates contestation, resistance, and distributional struggles. Within an ambitious and systematic new conceptual framework, the theory makes four key contributions. Firstly, it reconstructs global governance as a political system which builds on normative principles and reflexive authorities. Second, it identifies the central legitimation problems of the global governance system with a constitutionalist setting in mind. Third, it explains the rise of state and societal contestation by identifying key endogenous dynamics and probing the causal mechanisms that produced them. Finally, it identifies the conditions under which struggles in the global governance system lead to decline or deepening. Rich with propositions, insights, and evidence, the book promises to be the most important and comprehensive theoretical argument about world politics of the 21st century.

This book outlines the importance of political institutions in achieving good governance within a democratic polity.

After two generations of emphasis on governmental inefficiency and the need for deregulation, we now see growing interest in the possibility of constructive governance, alongside public calls for new, smarter regulation. Yet there is a real danger that regulatory reforms will be rooted in outdated ideas. As the financial crisis has shown, neither traditional market failure models nor public choice theory, by themselves, sufficiently inform or explain our current regulatory challenges. Regulatory studies, long neglected in an atmosphere focused on deregulatory work, is in critical need of new models and theories that can guide effective policy-making. This interdisciplinary volume points the way toward the modernization of regulatory theory. Its essays by leading scholars move past predominant approaches, integrating the latest research about the interplay between human behavior, societal needs and regulatory institutions. The book concludes by setting out a potential research agenda for the social sciences.

The study of governance has risen to prominence as a way of describing and explaining changes in our world. The SAGE Handbook of Governance presents an authoritative and innovative overview of this fascinating field, with particular emphasis on the significant new and emerging theoretical issues and policy innovations. The Handbook is divided into three parts. Part one explores the major theories influencing current thinking and shaping future research in the field of governance. Part two deals specifically with changing practices and policy innovations, including the changing role of the state, transnational and global governance, markets and networks, public management, and budgeting and finance. Part three explores the dilemmas of managing governance, including attempts to rethink democracy and citizenship as well as specific policy issues such as capacity building, regulation, and sustainable development. This volume is an excellent resource for advanced students and researchers in political science, economics, geography, sociology, and public administration. Mark Bevir is a Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.