Interactive governance and governability: an introduction

Abstract

This paper introduces two concepts - interactive governance and governability - with a view to exploring their applicability for assessing the governance of natural resource systems. Governance in its broad sense suggests that not only the state but also market and civil society have prominent roles in the governing of modern societies, from local to international levels. Interactive governance highlights the interactions between entities belonging to these societal parties. Governability is defined as the governance status of a societal sector or system such as a fishery or a coastal region as a whole. The assessment of such governability is approached by recognizing this whole to consist of three coherent analytical components: the system-to-be-governed , its governing system and their governance interactions. Distinguishing and conceptualising these three components forms a step in the process in which the governability of societal systems can be assessed. The paper uses examples from the field of capture fisheries to illustrate the potential utility of governabilility as an assessment framework.