Barriers to Good Governance - Key Challenges to Good Governance

Barriers to good governance occur when excessive centralization takes place in the administration. As policies and action plans are often disconnected from the demands of citizens, it creates dissatisfaction among the citizens. Barriers to good governance are a common problem in the system and mark a mismatch between what is required and what is available.

Many times, people's lack of understanding of their obligations and rights, as well as their callous attitude toward law enforcement and also lead to barriers to good governance. Know more about the challenges to good governance from the information provided here.

Barriers to Good Governance - Overview

Many barriers to good governance are caused when the government functionaries do not implement laws made by the Legislature. The government often passes laws and regulations that are not citizen-centric and lack the understanding of citizen demands. This friction between the citizens and those with governing powers causes challenges to good governance.

Barriers to good governance are ultimately caused when those in power act insensitively or inattentively towards public demands. This further aggravates the situation and causes distrust in the public.

Challenges of Good Governance

Many factors can act as barriers to good governance. These barriers are compounded by a massive imbalance in power distribution at all levels, which has worsened the crisis. Consequently, authorities see themselves as doing favours for civilians rather than serving them.

As a result, they have an insensitive and indifferent attitude toward the demands of residents, which is a major barrier to good governance. Here are some of the challenges of good governance:

• Lack of interest and capacity of personnel who implement the laws.
• Excessive centralization of policies can lead to the citizens’ needs becoming completely ignored.
• A lack of awareness of the citizens’ rights and duties can also lead to becoming a barrier to good governance.

Barriers to Good Governance - Inadequate Accountability

The culture of not taking and fulfilling accountability is a major challenge to good governance in India. Be it on the civilian level or on an official level, there is a problem of lack of accountability in the country. Here are the details -

• A usual factor for inefficiency and a barrier to good governance is the incapacity of the system to hold civil servants responsible for their activities.
• Disciplinary actions against inattentive government employees are uncommon because power is separated from responsibility at most levels.
• Another challenge to good governance is that the government's performance evaluation procedures are not well-structured.
• Therefore, government employees have adopted an indifferent attitude toward citizens’ problems.

Challenges to Good Governance - Weak Civil Society

The difference in power dynamics furthers the distance between civilians and those with governing powers. This power dynamic difference weakens civil society. Here are more details about this barrier to good governance

• Weak society institutions negatively impact good governance and pose challenges to good governance.
• Civil society bridges the distance between the citizens and the government, preventing the spread of unethical activities.
• The weakening of civil society institutions causes further distance between citizens and the government.

Barriers to Good Governance - Ineffective Law Enforcement

Enforcement of laws is a big problem in India which also contributes as a challenge to good governance. The country has a huge number of laws, each having a distinct goal in mind. Lack of implementing personnel and lack of infrastructure that supports this implementation can cause barriers to good governance in this respect.

• The effective application of rules produces an atmosphere that improves the well-being of all people while also encouraging each person to offer his or her best for society's progress.
• On the other side, poor execution can cost citizens a significant lot of difficulty and even damage their trust in the government mechanism leading to barriers to good governance.

Challenges to Good Governance - Red Tapism

Red tapism is a major challenge to good governance as it causes unnecessary delays. The burdensome exercise of engaging in excessive paperwork for everything can cause inefficiency and delays.

Bureaucracies all across the world are obligated to adhere to rules and procedures that are compulsory to run an effective government. These rules and procedures, on the other hand, are sometimes poorly designed and complicated from the start, and hence fail to perform their intended role and become one of the barriers to good governance.

Barriers to Good Governance - Weak Governing Institutions

Weak governing institutions lead to challenges in good governance. Here are further details

• A firm and clear division of powers in the administrative system enables several institutions such as the legislature, executive, and judiciary to work comprehensively.
• These institutions become weakened when they yield to unlawful and immoral pressures and fail to carry out their mandated tasks.
• As a result, barriers to good governance might prevail due to the failing governing processes.

FAQs on Barriers to Good Governance

Q1. What are the barriers to good governance?

Some of the barriers to good governance include red tapism, inadequate enforcement of rules and regulations, people's lack of understanding of their rights and responsibilities, and a lack of accountability. Barriers to good governance can cause mistrust among the public.

Q2. How is inadequate accountability a barrier to good governance?

Inadequate accountability is a major barrier to good governance. The government's performance evaluation systems are not well-structured, which contributes to inadequate accountability. At most levels, authority is separated from accountability, resulting in challenges to good governance.

Q3. Why is a weak civil society considered a Barrier to Good Governance?

Civil society bridges the gap between the citizens and the government. It ensures that the demands of the citizens are reaching the government. When civil society is weakened or absent, it leads to the spreading of immoral behaviour, which acts as a barrier to good governance.

Q4. What is meant by red tapism in the context of barriers to good governance?

Red tapism refers to the excessive involvement of time-consuming paperwork which can cause avoidable delays. When Bureaucracies fail to adhere to rules and procedures that are essential to run effective governance, it is known as red tapism and it is one of the barriers to good governance.