Theorizing governability: the interactive governance perspective

This chapter presents the conceptual foundations of governability and interactive governance upon which it is based. Interactive governance is a theoretical perspective that emphasizes the governing roles of state, market and civil society. Interactions between these realms are argued to be an important factor in the success or failure of whatever governance takes place. Governability refers to the quality of governance in a societal field, such as fisheries. Diversity, complexity, dynamics and scale are argued to be major variables influencing the governability of societal systems and their three components: a system-to-be-governed, a governing system and a system of governing interactions mediating between the two.