Proposes a new, advanced theory of governance, emphasizing the interactions of the state with other actors.

B. Guy Peters earned his PhD at Michigan State University and has four honorary doctorates from European universities. He is the author or editor of over 70 books in comparative politics, public administration and public policy. He was the founding co-editor of Governance and the European Political Science Review and is the founding president of the International Public Policy Association.

Preface; 1. The governance problem; 2. The theory of governance; 3. Decision-making: the essence of governing; 4. Governance and comparative politics; 5. The institutional politics of intergovernmental relationships; 6. Implementation, administration and governance; 7. Governance failure, functional failure and state failure; 8. The change of governance and the governance of change; 9. Conclusions: governance, functionalism and comparative politics; References; Index.