The Need for Better Understanding of Government and Governing

• Author: Gregory Tardi
• Pages: 19-38

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The Need for Better Understanding

of Government and Governing

Introduction: Understanding Government and Governing

e modern state, its institutions, mechanisms of governing, and

the ocials who act on its behalf, all amount to a complex set of

structures and processes. Government and governing are not eas-

ily understood. Citizenship denotes the existence of a community,

indeed of a community of interests, not only among the mem-

bers of society but also between the state and its society. Society

is more than passive claims by individuals to a number of rights,

entitlements, and various forms of assistance, but is also the active

participation of individuals in the conduct of public aairs and

contribution to the general welfare. One cannot be a good citizen

without knowing and understanding their own place in society, and

equally importantly, the construct of one’s own society and state.

A broader vision, a -degree perspective also involving at least

some historical awareness, would result in a general understanding

of society and the modern state. A perspective on one’s own state

is, of course, helpful in eective participation in government and

public aairs more generally.

Passive citizenship is equivalent to belonging legally to a country

without making any contribution to the polity. Wilful abstinence

POLITICAL LAW IN CANADA

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from public life may be a societal problem. At best, the inactiv-

ity of citizens engenders political risks and damage. At worst, it

puts the very legitimacy of the state into question. To counter such

structural diculties, the achievement of active participation by a

large number of citizens can result only from a progressive response,

in which each step results from the cooperation of citizens and

their state. e path of this response comprises the following steps:

interest in government and public aairs on the part of individuals,

in tandem with the fostering of such interest through campaigns

of information about the major issues of the day by appropriate

organs of the state; the development of ongoing awareness through

the media; and increasing education about the state and statecraft.

All these steps should lead to greater understanding of government

and governing. e ultimate result would be more intensive par-

ticipation by citizens in public life, which may mean voting, but

may also be other forms of public activity. Realistically, government

and governance will be of greater interest for some citizens than for

others. us, the explanations set out hereafter will be of particular

interest for students and practitioners of the social disciplines: law,

political science, public administration, along with f‌ields such as

journalism. is book is also particularly intended for those pro-

fessionally engaged in the practice of law, in politics, and in public

service. For these, no amount of information can ever be sucient.

Once it becomes apparent that more knowledge of, and atten-

tion to, public aairs is needed by a greater number of citizens, we

must address the twin questions of what knowledge ought to be

disseminated and how such information is to be cast.

e various forms of study have developed over the centuries to

explain the structure and the functioning of the state. Political sci-

ence aims to analyze politics systematically. Public administration

seeks to examine the inner workings of statecraft. Even more pertin-

ently, public law sets out the legal rules that underlie both political

science and public administration. Most specif‌ically, constitutional

law deals with the establishment and architecture of the state and

enshrines the fundamental rights of individuals that the state is