Governance network theory: past, present and future

This article argues that governance network theory (GNT) has developed into a fully fledged theory that has gained prominence within public administration. The emergence of New Public Governance opens up new challenges, however, and instead of governance networks and network governance replacing the traditional public administration model and New Public Management, hybrid practices will emerge. Addressing this topic, and other new challenges, will require GNT to further develop, and perhaps even reinvent itself. This is not without risks. If GNT evolves into a theory of everything, it will lose its explanatory power.