One of the grand themes of new governance has
been formation of strategic partnerships based on mutual
interest among public, forprofit, and civil society organizations.
In addition to organizational networking among
these societal actors, the new governance sought to
empower citizens to be involved in government and
community work which was aimed at providing ‘a thirdway’
alternative to conventional public provisions.
Although some network theorists even go as far as to
say that the role of the state is often delegitimated
(Peters & Pierre, 1998), the network theories seek to
emphasize the benefits associated with blending of public
and private resources in strategic settings.