We can observe a complex and partly contradictory transformation of authority, until now centred in the state. The dispersion of authority both vertically to supranational and subnational institutions and horizontally to non-state actors has challenged the structure and capacity of national governments. This transformation of authority is multi-dimensional and multiscalar process. A major change also is taking place in the organization of political power. This transformation has often been labeled as a shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’. We observe a world where new institutional forms of mixed public and private governance are emerging.