The word "governance" is ubiquitous. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund make loans conditional on "good governance." Climate change and avian flu appear as issues of "global governance." The U.S. Forest Service calls for "collaborative governance." What accounts for the pervasive use of the term "governance" and what does it really mean? In this Very Short Introduction, a leading authority on governance, Mark Bevir, considers not only the main theories of governance, but also sheds light on their impact in a variety of areas, including corporate, public, and global affairs. He shows that the word "governance" is used in a variety of contexts, but at a general level, it refers to all forms of social coordination and patterns of rule. Bevir also considers how to differentiate between good and bad governance.