Much of the debate on governance is either concerned with the question of conceptualization in relation to different theoretical traditions (see the previous chapters of the Handbook) or with the characterization of modes of governance often centred on networks. This chapter, by contrast, deals with the ways through which governance is operationalized, i.e to come back to classic questions associated with governance and government alike: not just who governs but how governments and various actors involved in governance processes operate. This is not a new idea. Foucault, in particular, made the point about the importance of governmental activities to understanding change of governmentality and the theme was central for N. Rose and P. Miller when they started their longterm research project on governmentatility. However, to raise this issue is to underline that the governance research agenda is historically related to the 1970s research about public policy failures, which is well represented by the work of Pressman and Wildavsky (1973). The question was whether complex societies were becoming ungovernable or if, at the very least, governments were less and less able to govern society through the administration, taxes and laws. Ever since, this debate has led to a dynamic governance research domain organized around the following questions:
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