Abstract

The terminological understanding and concepts of government, to govern, and governance have undergone a significant evolution in recent decades. Most notable has been a shift away from focusing on the institution of “government” to instead assessing “governance.” Rather than portraying the act of governing as one of a sovereign entity presiding over the governed and shaping public life with a multitude of tools, modern interpretations of governance acknowledge the restraints governmental actors and institutions face in a complex, multilayered, and globalized environment. Political steering at the hands of a government now requires interactions and cooperation both with an increasing number of other public as well as private actors, as an accelerated globalization has frequently left national borders virtually obsolete. Whether the democratic standards of the domestic sphere can be replicated in the international realm to ensure continued democratic governance remains a topic of contention.