Evolutionary Governance Theory: An Introduction

by Kristof Van Assche, Raoul Beunen, Martijn Duineveld

​This short books offers the reader a remarkable new perspective on the way markets, laws and societies evolve together. It can be of use to anyone interested in development, market and public sector reform, public administration, politics & law. Based on a wide variety of case studies on three continents and a variety of conceptual sources, the authors develop a theory that clarifies the nature and functioning of dependencies that mark governance evolutions. This in turn delineates in an entirely new manner the spaces open for policy experiment. As such, it offers a new mapping of the middle ground between libertarianism and social engineering. Theoretically, the approach draws on a wide array of institutional & development economics, systems theories, post-structuralism, actor- network theories, planning theory and legal studies.

105 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2013