‘Techniques’ for governance

Issues relating to governance are among the most critical in terms of sustaining viable political and social arrangements. In terms of democracies and their bureaucratic organizations, understanding how governing works leads to improved understandings of how to government best. In this article, the works of three important political thinkers, Alexis de Tocqueville, Max Weber and Michel Foucault are synthesized to create a tool for analyzing the effects of certain techniques used to govern. In particular, aspects of the techniques known as Zero Based Budgeting and the GPRA of 1993 are subjects of analysis.