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This paper offers a constructivist theory of governance. It begins by challenging rational choice and institutionalist accounts for neglecting meanings. If we are to take meanings seriously, we need to allow for the constructed nature of governance -- governance depends on concepts that are themselves in part products of wider webs of belief. The paper then argues, first, that constructivism is compatible with various forms of realism, and, second, that constructivism is strengthened by recognition of situated agency. Finally, the paper identifies the kind of aggregate concepts associated with this type of constructivism. Adapted from the source document.

A review essay on books by (1) T. Christensen & P. Laegreid [Eds], Transcending New Public Management: The Transformation of Public Sector Reforms (Aldershot, Ashgate, 2007); (2) M. Hill & P. Hupe, Implementing Public Policy (London: Sage, 2008); (3) E. C. Page & B. Jenkins, Policy Bureaucracy: Government with a Cast of Thousands (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2005); (4) E. Sorenson & J. Torfing, Theories of Democratic Network Governance (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2007); & (5) F. Vibert, The Rise of the Unelected: Democracy and the New Separation of Powers (Cambridge: Cambridge U Press, 2007).