Part I: 2020: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly George Abonyi is a visiting professor in the Department of Public Administration and Executive Education Program, Maxwell School, Syracuse University; and a senior advisor at the Fiscal Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, Thailand. His current research examines how the changing nature of international business and competitiveness is presenting new challenges to public policy and the role of government, and to government–business relations, with a special focus on Asia. E-mail: gabonyi@gmail.com David M. Van Slyke is an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration, Maxwell School of Citizen- ship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. His current research examines government contracting, public–private partnerships, government–business relationships, and strategic management. E-mail: vanslyke@maxwell.syr.edu Governing on the Edges S33 George Abonyi David M. Van Slyke Maxwell School of Syracuse University Governing on the Edges: Globalization of Production and the Challenge to Public Administration in the Twenty-First Century Globalization means many things for governments around the world in terms of governance. Questions that are left unexplored in the public administration literature are what changes in the globalization of production mean for governments and their relationships with business and civil society, and what the implications are for public administration. Te authors develop a conceptual framework that governments can use to shape their interactions with business in more strategically and mutually beneficial ways. Te data are derived from extensive fieldwork in the emerging economies of Southeast Asia. Key challenges to government include the importance of understanding global value chains, value chain-related trade facilitation, investment in logistics, the strengthening of enterprise clusters, effective education, skill development and training, and the governance risks inherent in value chains and networks. Te essay concludes with a discussion of five key considerations for public administration in thinking, planning, and acting strategically in relationships with the private sector regarding the globalization of production. Tese considerations are crucial for creating business environments that strengthen economic development and manage societal concerns in ways that are aligned with public values. T he global economic crisis that was triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in Septem- ber 2008 and the earlier Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, which spread beyond East Asia to Russia and Brazil, both involved a crisis of national and global governance in an increasingly intercon- nected and networked world. Te crises demonstrate the limited capacity of national governments to understand the size, nature, and interdependence of global capital, production, and trade flows and the constraints on the ability of governments to develop, coordinate, and implement appropriate responses. More fundamentally, they reflect the limits of national governments to understand and effectively manage the dynamics of an increasingly interconnected and complex global economy in which the boundaries between the public and private sectors are shifting and uncertain. Tis uncertainty extends beyond the complexity of global capital flows. Globalization in its many forms defines the fundamental chal- lenge to the role of government and public administration in the twenty-first century. It is shaping new types of interac- tions and interdependence among nations, economies, and people, and, in the process, it is changing the basic role and functions of government. Te primary challenge to public administration is one of govern- ing on the edges: connecting government to an increas- ingly complex, dynamic, and networked global environment (Mintzberg 2004). Tis requires collaborating effectively with nongov- ernmental enterprises, particularly the private sector, to shape policy and deliver services while maintaining public accountability. Globalization changes the basic role of governance: it requires linking versus com- manding, convincing versus controlling, and enabling and partnering versus doing. What is involved goes beyond institutional change to a cultural transforma- tion of public administration—how civil servants and citizens perceive their roles and relationships in the context of twenty-first-century challenges to govern- ment and governance. As Caine and Stier (2010) note, “In today’s interconnected world this requires building a new generation of leaders and workers with international experience, a global perspective, and the skills to match.” Globalization in its many forms defines the fundamental challenge to the role of government and public administration in the twenty- first century. It is shaping new types of interactions and interdependence among nations, economies, and people, and, in the process, it is changing the basic role and functions of government.