Luigi Tronca

This article suggests a sociological analysis of the concept of governance. First, the author presents an analysis of the characteristics of the social contexts that have supported the origin and the development of the concept of governance. Then, some political and sociological definitions of this concept are discussed. Secondly, the author presents a relational definition of governance and he shows how the relational sociology provides a multidimensional conception. The relational sociology furthermore allows to identify some empirical indicators of this concept. Finally, the author analyses the structural properties of the social networks that can be a resource for the processes of mutual-coordination between autonomous and interdependent actors. Then, some structural indicators of governance are discussed.