Provincial governors and their role in local governance and development in the Jordanian context

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1900
• Date: 01 February 2019
• Published date: 01 February 2019

ACADEMIC PAPER

Provincial governors and their role in local governance and

development in the Jordanian context

Mohammed Taamneh |Sahem Nawafleh |Shaker Aladwan |Noor Alquraan

Department of Public Administration, Faculty

of Economics and Administrative Sciences,

Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

Correspondence

Dr. Sahem Nawafleh, Department of Public

Administration, Faculty of Economics and

Administrative Sciences, Yarmouk University,

Irbid 21163, Jordan

Email: sahem.n@yu.edu.jo

Local administration, in the modern‐day world, positions the governor as playing a

critical role in the overall operation of an efficient and productive governing body,

as well as in satisfying and attaining economic and governorate social development.

The present work examines governor administrative power alongside the administra-

tion framework and in attaining societal development in local governance in the Jor-

danian context. A self‐administrated questionnaire was the tool implemented across a

sample comprising 233 subjects. In an effort to address a number of considerations

and concerns in this regard, a descriptive analysis was carried out, with the use of

structural equation modelling alongside conformity factor analysis in an effort to pro-

vide a general fit for the measurement instrument. Findings revealed that within min-

istry branches, governors are seen to have only moderate power in an administrative

regard, whereas with both municipalities council and governorate council, higher

administrative power is granted. Moreover, a notable role is witnessed in regard to

attaining economic and social development, although governors are inhibited from

achieving complete efficiency as a result of contextual and cultural considerations.

1|INTRODUCTION

Governance, as a concept, on the one hand, is centred on the arrange-

ment and format of different links between societal members and, on

the other hand, focuses on the centre leaders responsible for handling

the operations of society as a whole. Nonetheless, with the growth of

democratic behaviours, governing institutions have experienced diffi-

culties in managing the complicated and often intersecting issues

induced as a result of numerous contextual obstacles and limitations

(Grindle, 2004). Accordingly, there is a recognised need to identify a

new approach to management and governance, bringing together both

informal and formal entities, with informal institutions positioned as

adopting an active role in the making of decisions. Accordingly, there

is the aim of increasing the government scope and accordingly involv-

ing the private sector and civil society in garnering insight into opin-

ions and thus verifying issues at the local level for consideration by

decision makers (Dixon, Bhuiyan, & Üstüner, 2018).

In mind of the above, governance, as a concept, has been imple-

mented on a wide scale in such a way that it can be differentiated

from government, as a concept. Importantly, governance has become

recognised as an echo of the social function surrounding the

management of a complicated combination of interdependency and

dependency across various different factors in society, as signified

by civil society organisations, local governments, individuals, and inter-

est groups alike (Fukuyama, 2013). Owing to the fact that the gover-

nor is one of the key supports underpinning local councils and their

operations, a key role in governance is adopted in this regard, with

the relationship between local citizens and political leadership medi-

ated in this regard so as to encourage and facilitate local development.

It would be accurate to state that governor performance, and the

nature of such, influences local development methods and the attain-

ment of goals (Almuhaisen, 2015). Accordingly, it would be accurate to

highlight the role of governor as critical within and across the

community.

This study centres on governance experiences in the Jordanian

context, discussing the numerous local administration‐related devel-

opments and changes, with emphasis placed on the role of the provin-

cial governor as a key actor in attaining economic and social

development across society, notably through encouraging and facili-

tating official administrative links and power to become involved in

policymaking at the local level, with various levels and government

structures, through the legislation of the Decentralization Law No.

Received: 16 November 2018 Accepted: 19 November 2018

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1900

J Public Affairs. 2019;19:e1900.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1900

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of10