Hubert Heinelt This book is the result of a conference on "Democratic and Participatory Govemance: From Citizens to 'Holders'?" held in Florence in September 2000. The conference which had been organised by Bemard Gbikpi, JUrgen Grote and Philippe Schmitter was part of the project "Achieving Sustainable and Innovative Policies through Participatory Govemance in a Multi-Level Context" funded by the European Commission under the 5th Framework Programme on Research and Development. The project's empirical focus is on specific policy areas - water supply and EMAS (i.e. the EU environmental management and audit scheme) - and takes account of different territariallevels of govemment. The objective is to analyze old and new forms of govemance to identify those being conducive to innovative and sustainable policies which, themselves, are based on the core values of dialogue, negotiation, active citizenship, partnership and subsidiarity. This also implies identifying the conditions that support the creation and maintenance of these forms of govemance. And last but not least, the project also aims at looking out for opportunities of EU intervention to promote these conditions in a way such that participatory forms of govemance can be achieved.

Während der Governance-Begriff wissenschaftlich als konsolidiert gelten dürfte, gibt es Probleme bei der praktischen Umsetzung der mit ihm verbundenen Idee. Das englischsprachige Buch misst einige der im "Whitebook on Governance" der EU-Kommission angesprochenen Problemfelder aus und trägt so zur Operationalisierung des Begriffes bei.

1. From Democratic Government to Participatory Governance.- Governance: Concepts.- 2. Contextualizing Normative Standards for Legitimate Governance beyond the State.- 3. Participation in Governance Arrangements: Is there any Reason to Expect it will Achieve "Sustainable and Innovative Policies in a Multilevel Context"?.- 4. Governance: A Social-Political Perspective.- 5. Civic Perspectives on a Democratic Transformation of the EU.- Governance: Institutions.- 6. The European Commission: Promoting EU Governance.- 7. The Effects of European Integration on National Forms of Governance: Reconstructing Practices and Reconceptualizing Democracy.- 8. Regions in Multilevel Governance Arrangements: Leadership versus Partnership.- Governance: Sectors and Domains.- 9. Democratising Expertise.- 10. Environmental Governance: From Innovation to Powerlessness.- 11. Private Actors in Political Governance: Regulating the Information and Communication Sectors.- Conclusion.- 12. Participation and Meta-Governance: The White Paper of the EU Commission.