21st Century Politics Require Governance Capable of Driving Transformation

COVID-19 has turned the public focus back towards the state. Dealing with  growing demands requires transformational politics.

The new book “Just Transitions” by the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & International Monetary Fund aims to serve as a roadmap for the future. It has a chapter written by our Chief Executive Juha Leppänen, in which he makes a case for governance capable of driving transformation.

Today, policy-makers and politicians wrestle with tough questions regarding climate change, technology, trade wars, and life after the pandemic. The role of government in our societies is the biggest it has been in decades: citizens around the world are looking to their governments and their ability to deal with the pandemic and its social and economic ramifications.

The role of government in our societies is the biggest it has been in decades

 

Our century will most likely face multiple other crises such as pandemics, economic shocks, or geopolitical incidents. Crises and the need for large-scale societal transformation will keep governments at the forefront. Dealing with these growing demands requires two things: transformational politics and governance capable of driving transformation. Our approaches to governance need to be experimentalist, vision-driven and agile.

The road ahead is hard, but there is hope. Governments around the world have started to focus on rethinking governance.

Download the book here