The Centre for the Study of Law and Governance was established as JNU’s response to the increasingly interdisciplinary focus on issues related to law and governance. Significant contributions by sociologists, political scientists, economics and scholars in other fields, have enriched and widened the traditional understanding of the idea of governance. Simultaneously, governance practices have also reached out beyond the state to encompass elements of civil society and a wide variety of institutional forms.

Governance issues have policy implications in terms of the reform of public institutions; the creation and establishment of procedures and rules that lead to greater efficiency, transparency and accountability; and the challenge of making governance more inclusive and participatory, through the strengthening of democracy and civil society. Governance is also increasingly taking place at many levels simultaneously, from the local to the global.

While the Centre’s academic programme aims at developing a body of scholarly research that contributes to ongoing debates and issues in academic publications, it also seeks to cultivate a practical orientation by initiating debate on policy issues, so as to act as a catalyst for change. Given the diverse actors in the policy domain, the Centre aims at bridging the gap between academics and practitioners – administrators, policy planners, market and civil society actors. It hopes to act as a platform for dialogue between the academy, government, civil society and NGOs at various levels of governance, from the local to the national.

Globalisation and governance : institutions of global governance, multilateral institutions, international trade and environmental regimes, and their impact on national sovereignty.

Democracy and civil society : the role of civil society in deepening democracy and in the processes of governance; accountability and legitimacy of governing institutions; mapping civil society in India; citizenship and human rights.

State institutions and governance : multi-layered governance, including local governance; civil service reform and new public management; traditional and modern institutions for self-governance, conflict-resolution and the management of natural resources.

Legal framework for development : legal institutions as social and cultural institutions; the political economy of law making; the economic efficiency and social principles underlying legal reasoning; the impact of the legal framework and legal processes on the rights, entitlements and social opportunities of citizens; the rule of law, access to justice; the relationship between the public and the private sector (including privatisation, regulatory regimes and deregulation) relationship between legal and economic development.