Bingöl University Journal of Social Sciences Institute

Abstract

Governance is a practice of power that emerged towards the end of the
20th century. In terms of scope and definition, governance includes both national
and international political institutions, companies, unions, universities and think
tanks. Governance is seen as a key tool for the establishment of neoliberal policies
and has spread rapidly, especially under the leadership of international
organizations. While governance, which is considered in both academic and
practical aspects, is criticized by some, it is praised by others. The view that is
critical of governance makes its refutation through neoliberalism in which
governance is mediated on the economic-political axis. On the other hand,
advocates praise governance for its contribution to democratization processes.
Governance is one of the main subjects studied with interest in Turkey too as it is
in the world. There are studies dealing with both dimensions of the subject in
different disciplines. Public administration is the main one of these areas. The
aim of this study is to examine the governance studies carried out in the field of
public administration. In this context, governance in this study is handled on the
numerical view of the governance studies, the intellectual approaches on the
subject and how governance is handled. As a result, it is understood that, contrary
to what was assumed at the beginning of the study, governance studies are not
much in number. It has been concluded that studies that criticize governance are
quantitatively less than those who defend them, whereas critical studies are
effective.