Question

THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION THEORY IN MODERN GOVERNANCE

Answer 1

Prevailing views on good governance centre upon concepts of capability, accountability and responsiveness. They focus on the need for the full participation of citizens and civil society actors in governance and are predicated on the effective flow of information and dialogue between citizen, governments and other actors. By situating communication, information dissemination and dialogue as key components of governance a positive correlation between communication and good governance is tacitly assumed. The aim of this paper is to examine the role (both positive and negative) that communication plays in promoting good governance by analysing available evidence and highlighting specific case studies, evaluations reports and academic articles detailing the impact of communication on governance. The purpose is to move beyond anecdote and conjecture, to review the evidence base and thereby to provide a reliable basis for policies and programmes on communication for good governance. This paper is structured as follows: Section One provides an analysis of the relationship between governance and communication. Section Two reviews the kinds of evidence available and warns about the difficulties in establishing a causal link. Based on available evidence, Section Three provides an overview of the role of communication on government capability, accountability and responsiveness using a range of empirical data (where available) but relying heavily upon peer reviewed case studies. Section Four concludes with a summary of findings about the role of communication in good governance and identifying enabling factors which can encourage or impede a direct causal link.