Download or read book Governing Complex Societies written by J. Pierre and published by Springer. This book was released on 2005-04-25 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western societies are becoming increasingly complex and challenging to govern, yet the modern state continues to play a central role in governance. This book presents a detailed analysis of the challenges confronting the contemporary state and the processes through which the state addresses those challenges. The notion of 'governing without government' is critiqued; instead, Pierre and Peters argue that what is happening a more a matter of state transformation than state decline.