Scope and Coverage

The encyclopedia has a determinedly global scope. Governance is itself a global phenomenon. Global institutions, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, debate and act on global dilemmas, such as the environment, HIV, human rights, the Internet, and poverty. Besides, the language of governance highlights the ties of localities to the broader global context. Governments act with and through associations that are typically embedded in transnational networks. National boundaries get scant respect from trade, policy transfer, and intellectual debate. Indeed, one theme of the encyclopedia is the rise of new regional and global [Page xxxvi]institutions that attempt to regulate such transnational flows. Even when governance refers to specific public-sector reforms, such as privatization or new public management, these often have been pursued in one country and then had an influence on others.

Global phenomena, transnational links, and crossnational influences are covered in several ways within the encyclopedia. First, a host of entries explicitly address global, regional, and transnational topics. Second, yet other entries cover theories and concepts that are debated globally, or ideas and policies that have been implemented in diverse countries. Third, entries on specific regions often highlight similarities and differences around the world. Fourth, entries include information and examples from diverse regions and countries. And, fifth, the contributors themselves come from all over the world.

The encyclopedia has almost 550 entries, totaling more than 625,000 words written by some 230 international experts. The Reader's Guide provides one way of navigating this comprehensive coverage. It highlights general topics, such as policy analysis, public-sector management, sociological theory, economic governance, democratic theory, security, and global governance. Each topic heading is followed by a list of the entries that address that topic.

User Aids

The right way to use the encyclopedia is, of course, that which you find most helpful and convenient. That said, two of the main ways of accessing entries on a given topic are to

• look up relevant words in the index and
• browse the Reader's Guide.

And two of the main ways of pursuing further study on a given topic are to

• follow the cross-references and
• read the books and articles listed as Further Readings and References.

Entries are arranged A–Z (although there are no entries for X, Y, and Z). They are cross-referenced when appropriate so as to guide readers to related material. Blind entries cover general topics that are dealt with in more specific entries, as well as specific topics that have common, alternative headings. As the editor, I have written both an entry on governance and a brief introduction that provides a more personal overview of the encyclopedia.

Acknowledgments

An interdisciplinary and international cast of editors and contributors organized and wrote the encyclopedia. I thank them all. My special gratitude goes to Naomi Choi, who worked tirelessly to administer the project. She was a constant source of good advice on organizational and intellectual matters. I also owe much to the other associate editors. They helped to develop the list of entries, select contributors, review entries, and generally make up for my woeful ignorance on far too many topics. I received valuable support at the University of California, Berkeley, from the Department of Political Science and the Institute of Governmental Studies. Tracy Alpern, Rolf Janke, Yvette Pollastrini, Paul Reis, and Lucy Robinson encouraged and assisted; thank you to them and all those at Sage who helped to produce the encyclopedia. Amy Freitag and Robin Gold undertook the unenviable task of copyediting such a large work written by diverse authors with their many different styles. Laura, as always, provided the presence on which I leaned most heavily when most in need.