EVA S RENSEN is Professor of Public Administration at Roskilde University, Denmark. She has written several books and articles on democracy, public administration and new forms of governance. She is co-founder of the Centre for Democratic Network Governance and currently directs a large scale research project on regional network governance. JACOB TORFING is Professor of Politics and Institutions at Roskilde University, Denmark. He is currently working on discourse theory, welfare reforms and democratic network governance. His books include New Theories of Discourse (1999) and

'A comprehensive and accessible study of the latest thinking on network governance. A great collection of authors bring into focus the challenge of how we are governing ourselves in today's complex societies. The book provides an excellent account of where we have got to in the study of network governance and some very good hints about where we might go in the future.' - Gerry Stoker, Professor of Governance and Politics, University of Southampton, UK 'A significant contribution to the governance literature. Networks are often seen as the chief manifestation of new forms of governance and this volume discusses in detail the virtues and perils, the prospects and problems with governance by networks. Given the breadth of the volume and the quality of analysis it offers, this book is an inevitable reading for students and scholars interested in governance.' - Jon Pierre, Professor of Public Administration, Gothenburg University, Sweden '...this is a highly useful book. As well as providing a cogent theoretical platform of its own from which to launch a new generation of research in this area it should also be of interest to a broader number of readers than its narrow subject title might suggest.' - David Moon, University of Sheffield, Political Studies Review

• Introduction; E.Sørensen & J.Torfing Theoretical Approaches to Governance Network Dynamics; E.Sørensen & J.Torfing Mechanisms of Governance Network Formation: A Contextual Rational Choice Perspective; N.Hertting Virtuous and Viscous Circles in Democratic Network Governance; B.G.Peters Decentred Theory, Change and Network Governance; M.Bevir & R.A.W.Rhodes Theoretical Approaches to Governance Network Failure; E.Sørensen & J.Torfing Closure and Governance; L.Schaap Consensus and Conflict in Policy Networks: Too Much or Too Little?; J.F.M.Koppenjan Network Governance: Effective and Legitimate?; T.A.Börzel & D.Panke Theoretical Approaches to Metagovernance; E.Sørensen & J.Torfing Governing the Formation and Mobilization of Governance Networks; P.Triantafillou Meta-governance as Network Management; E-H.Klijn & J.Edelenbos Governing Outputs and Outcomes of Governance Networks; L.J.O'Toole, Jr. Theoretical Approaches to Democratic Network Governance; E.Sørensen & J.Torfing Governance Networksand Participation; A.D.Hansen Networks and Democratic Ideals: Equality, Freedom and Communication; J.S.Dryzek Democratic Accountability and Network Governance: Problems and Potentials; A.Esmark