Trust and Control within Governance From Clash to Collaboration

This illuminating book explores one of the central dilemmas of contemporary governance: how to build trust without losing accountability and control. Drawing on examples of Scandinavian governance, Bentzen and Johnsen evaluate the trust–control nexus in public organisations – and ask how far these models travel beyond the Nordic region.

Bentzen and Johnsen offer key insight into how trust-based leadership plays out across multiple organisational levels – politicians, administrators and frontline leaders – and identify concrete pathways for a complementary interplay between trust and control. The book examines the paradoxes that emerge when trust and control are rebalanced and shows how organisational actors can cope constructively with these persistent tensions.

Trust and Control within Governance is an essential read for students and scholars in governance, public administration, and public management. It is also highly relevant for policymakers and practitioners specialising in trust reforms, leadership and change management in the public sector.

Tina Øllgaard Bentzen, Associate Professor, Department of Society and Business, Roskilde School of Governance, Roskilde University, Denmark and Åge Johnsen, Professor of Public Policy, Oslo Business School, Oslo Metropolitan University and Adjunct Professor, Staff and Command College, Norwegian Defence University College, Norway