The action, fact, or manner of governing (not solely by governments); the various means used to shape society to a desired end, which include:

• • the processes by which governments are selected, scrutinized, and modified

• • the capacity of government to generate, establish, and apply policy and legal procedures

• • the systems and methods of interaction between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary

• • the relationship between the state, economy, and civil society, and the regulation of economic regimes, and of social authority and practice (Shirlow in C. Gallaher et al. 2009).

Hooghe and Marks (2003) Am. Polit. Sci. Rev. 97 distinguish between governance as the dispersion of authority, and governance as task-specific, intersecting, and flexible, while Griffin (2012) Pol. Studs Rev. 10, 2, 208 clarifies the terms multi-level governance, which is concerned with continuous negotiation among nested governments at several territorial tiers, and network governance emphasizing horizontal relations between and across institutions. Environmental governance is concerned with: the formal and informal institutions that influence how power is exercised; how public decisions are taken; how citizens become engaged or disaffected; and who gains legitimacy and influence in environmental policy; see Reed and Bruyneel (2011) PHG 33, 4, 646.