Narratives of participatory governance: Social science and democracy in mark bevirʼs a theory of governance. Issue 3 (1st March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ron, Amit
• Is Part Of: International journal of organization theory and behavior. Volume 19:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 372
• Page End: 388
• Publication Date: 2016-03-01
• Subjects: Organization -- Periodicals; Industrial organization (Economic theory) -- Periodicals; Organizational behavior -- Periodicals; Organization; Industrial organization (Economic theory); Organizational behavior; Organizational Studies; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 658.1
• DOI: 10.1108/IJOTB-19-03-2016-B006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1093-4537

Abstract

Abstract : Mark Bevirʼs A Theory of Governance proposes a Copernican revolution in the way we understand the role of social science in public administration. Conventional accounts assign social science the role of instructing public administrators how to steer its machinery towards the public interest, based on social scienceʼs alleged ability to explain how people act and what they need. Bevir offers a vision of public administration in which ordinary people take a leading role by engaging in dialogues in which they articulate their needs. In this vision, the role of social science is to facilitate those public dialogues. This essay offers a sympathetic critical evaluation of Bevirʼs exploration of what it means to understand social science as a facilitator.