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UNESCAP’s characteristics of good governance from the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita and its contemporary relevance in the Indian context

Published Online:August 1, 2013pp 192-212https://doi.org/10.1504/IJICBM.2013.055504

Abstract

Research on good governance from various dimensions has been done by several scholars. However on philosophical perspectives of good governance; from the Bhagavad-Gita is yet to be found in any governance literature. Therefore, in this paper, the authors will uncover the UNESCAP’s characteristics of good governance from the Bhagavad-Gita philosophy and its contemporary relevance. Besides filling the gap in the literature, this paper is also in line with the growing interest in integrating philosophy into the study of good governance. This paper employs hermeneutics, a qualitative methodology which is the interpretation of ancient or classical literatures and a review of literatures in good governance. The findings from the analysis reveal that the Bhagavad-Gita recommends an intrinsic perspective of governance from self-governance to corporate governance and towards global governance. This paper is expected to provide philosophical and spirit-centred approach to the subject of good governance based on ancient philosophy and values.

Keywords

the Bhagavad-Gita, good governance, UNESCAP, corporate governance, self-governance, global governance, leadership philosophy, Indian leadership values

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