Purpose Good governance has been declared as the key target of most Asian governments, but it appears to be an unattainable objective. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potentials for establishing governance across Asian countries. Drawing upon the literature and experience of Asian countries, the study argues that governance represents an unclear state that is rooted more in perception than reality. An extensive review of the indicators of governance reveals the anomaly and unorganized efforts to measure it, and points to the need for recognizing accomplishments in areas that are not directly or indirectly covered in the existing schemes of assessment. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a broad review of the literature on governance and political systems in Asian countries. Existing arrangements for assessing governance are critically reviewed to point out the risks in a perception-dependent approach. Secondary sources and insight obtained from relevant research constitute the data analyzed in the paper. Findings The paper finds that the target of good governance cannot be fully achieved due to the significant diversity across Asian countries as well as varied perceptions held by assessors. Stakeholders have different perceptions about the requirements and ideal of governance and existing tools for measuring governance are inadequate. Most importantly, assessment frameworks do not recognize contextual dimensions that are relevant to Asian countries. Furthermore, it is important to recognize efforts that are aimed at improving conditions instead of working toward an absolute outcome of governance. Recognition of small successes will contribute to the improvement of circumstances rather than ranking countries on the basis of a limited number of perception-based indicators and listing them on international indices. Research limitations/implications The paper does not draw upon primary sources of information and is limited to an assessment of existing arrangements. Practical implications The paper will help draw attention to the limitations of existing arrangements of assessing countries and ranking them for the quality of governance. It will also encourage researchers to think about alternative tools for assessing governance and recognizing progress in Asian countries. Social implications The paper will encourage governments to identify obstacles to good governance and adopt policies to overcome them. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature presenting a critical view for encouraging alternative approach to governance, incorporating perceptions of diverse stakeholders and highlights the need to recognize progress, however limited, in all areas.

中文翻译：

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重新评估亚洲治理的内容和背景：认可成就

目的善治已被宣布为大多数亚洲国家政府的主要目标，但这似乎是无法实现的目标。本文的目的是探讨在亚洲国家建立治理的潜力。根据亚洲国家的文献和经验，该研究认为，治理代表着一种不清楚的国家，其根源在于感知而非现实。对治理指标的广泛审查揭示了衡量治理的异常和无组织的努力，并指出有必要承认在现有评估方案未直接或间接涵盖的领域中的成就。设计/方法论/方法本文基于对亚洲国家治理和政治体系文献的广泛回顾。对评估治理的现有安排进行了严格审查，以指出基于感知的方法中的风险。从相关研究中获得的二手资料和见解构成了本文分析的数据。结论本文发现，由于亚洲国家之间存在巨大差异以及评估人员持有不同见解，因此无法完全实现善政的目标。利益相关者对治理的要求和理想有不同的看法，而现有的衡量治理的工具还不够。最重要的是，评估框架没有认识到与亚洲国家相关的背景因素。此外，重要的是要认识到旨在改善条件的努力，而不是争取实现绝对的治理成果。对小成就的认可将有助于改善环境，而不是根据数量有限的基于感知的指标对国家进行排名并将其列入国际指数。研究的局限性/意义本文没有利用主要的信息来源，而是仅限于对现有安排的评估。实际意义本文将帮助提请人们注意评估国和对治理质量进行排名的现有安排的局限性。它还将鼓励研究人员考虑使用替代工具来评估亚洲国家的治理水平并认可其进步。社会影响本文将鼓励政府识别善治的障碍，并采取政策克服这些障碍。