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It is argued in this introductory article that the contemporary trend of “reinventing governance”, which began in the 1990s, has continued to expand globally to encompass many developing nations. However, there is no uniform and universal paradigm of government reinvention. In fact, there are certain cross-national and inter-regional differences, especially between developed and developing nations, in terms of the basic tenets, rationales, and implications of such reinvention. After presenting brief summaries of articles covered in this issue of the journal, it is suggested that due to unique contextual settings and people’s needs in developing nations, this reinvention model itself has to be reinvented or revised in order to make it relevant or useful to these countries

This article explains that in the current global context dominated by market ideology, there has been a significant shift in the nature of the state based on promarket neoliberal principles in most countries, including those in the developing world. Under this emerging neoliberal state characterized by the primacy of market forces and adoption of market-driven policies and programs, the role of the public service has also changed in terms of its increasing concern for streamlining public sector activities, enhancing economic efficiency, improving customer satisfaction, and so on. After exploring such impacts of the current neoliberal state formation on the public service's role, the article briefly examines the socio-political consequences of this changing role, especially in developing nations.

During recent decades, there has been a significant transition or “reinvention” in the mode of state governance in both developed and developing nations. In line with this global trend, most Southeast Asian countries have restructured the traditional state-centric mode of governance or the so-called “developmental state” in favor of market-led neoliberal reforms and policies, often under external pressure or persuasion. This new mode of state governance favoring global market forces has serious implications for economic sovereignty and self-reliant development in the region. In this regard, this article attempts to examine major domains and directions of reinvention in governance in Southeast Asian countries. It also explores the critical impacts of this recent market-driven reinvention on the economic sovereignty and self-reliance of these countries

Upon reviewing relevant literature, this chapter aims to give an insight into the importance and popularity of the concept of sustainable development. Accordingly, the chapter provides an insight into the evolution and development of the concept of sustainable development, its various definitions, key dimensions and fundamental indicators, with an overview of the progress on key issues that are important economically, socially and environmentally. The chapter concludes with the principles needed in order to seek sustainability and the advantages of practising it.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the development of the excellence awards of the Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP). The programme reports directly to the Dubai government cabinet. The paper traces how changing priorities have over time been reflected in an evolving portfolio of excellence award categories.

The study followed a qualitative research approach, relying on interviewing within the DGEP, analysis of DGEP presentations and publicly available documents, informal conversations with senior UAE public sector managers, and ad hoc observations of the nature of public sector management and government in the UAE and Dubai.

The DGEP exhibited three key rationales since its inception in 1997. They were rationalisations of excellence, measured effectiveness, and efficiency. They overlapped with one another and were also overlain with additional rationales, such as e-government and teamwork. This evolution of rationales has been reflecting political priorities and global trends in public sector management.

The paper adds to the knowledge of successive rationales for the evolution of the excellence awards scheme of the world's first integrated, whole-government excellence initiative.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between public management reform and ethics management in the South African public service. A case study, the Department of Correctional Services, is used to illustrate the impact of reforms. The paper sets the foundation for further research and debate on the topic.

The paper is placed within the current theoretical discourse of corruption and its prevention. It is mainly the product of a literature review on the most recent publications on corruption and its prevention, as well as a survey of South African statutory and government publications and reports. With regard to the empirical research, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches is used.

The paper is exploratory in nature. It sets the scene for further empirical research to determine the causal relationship between public management reform and ethics management in developing states. The haphazard implementation of management reform could lead to weaknesses in the management of ethics within the public service.

In addition to the evaluation of literature and a description of the most recent theoretical work on corruption, this paper aims to engage in substantial empirical research. This component of the research project, however, is at its initial stage.

The paper provides a starting point for debate on ethics management within developing states. Developing states, in particular, are subject to the negative consequences of corruption. It is argued that public management reform should be approached with caution, as it could have adverse consequences for the management of ethics.

This paper describes ethics management in the South African public service within the international discourse of public management reform. It explores the relationship between ethics management and the public management reform agenda, specifically within a context of developing states.

My interest in public administration as a discipline was sparked by Dr Joseph P.L. Jiang, who was a student of the late Professor Fred W. Riggs at Indiana University, in 1968 when I took his course in public administration during my final year at the Department of Political Science, University of Singapore. I also remember fondly my first meeting with Professor Riggs during the same year when he gave a guest lecture in Dr Jiang's course (Quah, 2008d). I met Fred again many years later at various international conferences but I remember fondly our meetings in Chiangmai in June 1993 and in Honolulu in June 1996. I have also remained in touch with Dr Jiang after his return to Taipei.