Decentred theory, change and network governance

Governance is often defined as self-organizing, inter-organizational networks. Of course, people define governance in all kinds of ways. Nonetheless, social scientists typically appeal to inexorable, impersonal forces such as the functional differentiation of the modern state or the marketization of the public sector to explain the shift from hierarchy to markets to network governance. We will invoke the Anglo-governance school as an illustration of such a postivist approach to network governance. We also will offer a decentred alternative to such positivist approaches. To decentre is to focus on the social construction of a practice through the ability of individuals to create, and act on, meanings; it is to unpack a practice in terms of the disparate and contingent beliefs and actions of individuals (Bevir & Rhodes 2003: ch. 4). When we decentre governance, we challenge the idea that inexorable, impersonal forces are driving a shift from bureaucratic government to networks. We argue, instead, that governance and networks are constructed differently by many actors against the background of diverse traditions.