In this paper a start is made in developing a conceptual model for the governability of a particular societal system based upon the (inter)active perspective on governance. Governability is seen as consisting of three main components, a system-to-be-governed (SG), a governance system (GS), and the interactions between these two (GI). The basis for conceptualizing the GS is the primary processes in which societal sectors specialize. These processes show characteristics by which they can be analyzed, such as their diversity, dynamics and complexity. The GS can be operationalized according to aspects of governance activities: elements, modes and orders of governance, and in the three major societal governance institutions: state, market, civil society and increasingly hybrid forms among them. The article also discusses the GI where one input is from the SG to the GS, defined as participatory interactions, and another from the GS to the SG which is seen as policy and management driven forms of interactions. Together these major governability components form a conceptual basis to analyze and eventually assess the governability of a particular societal sector, such as a fishery, a coastal zone or in fact any societal sector.
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