Inclusive governance and related concepts: A review and policy insights

Zhuldyz Davletbayeva, Ulan Bekish, Gulimzhan Suleimenova, Alexandr Zagrebin, Arman ABDANBEKOV

Problems and Perspectives in Management, 2026

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DOI 10.21511/ppm.24(2).2026.23
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractInclusive governance has attracted growing scholarly attention as both a normative principle and a practical approach. This paper aims to conduct a bibliometric and science-mapping analysis of the academic literature on inclusive governance and related concepts. The analysis is based on 1,990 documents indexed in the Scopus database, covering the available period from 1976 to 2025. Data processing and analysis were conducted using the Bibliometrix package in R. The results reveal a pronounced growth trajectory of inclusive governance research, with a sharp acceleration after 2013 and particularly strong expansion in the post-2020 period. Citation dynamics highlight the enduring influence of foundational works on participatory and democratic governance, alongside the rising prominence of sustainability-oriented and decision-making frameworks. Keyword co-occurrence and thematic mapping identify a strong conceptual core centered on participatory governance and governance approaches, complemented by more specialized human- and community-centered themes. A domain-based thematic analysis further demonstrates that inclusive governance is conceptualized differently across research areas. Public governance emphasizes participation and normative sustainability principles, environmental governance focuses on resource management and issue-specific challenges, while economic and organizational governance integrates institutional, innovation-driven, and stakeholder-oriented perspectives. The findings confirm inclusive governance as a conceptually plural yet increasingly coherent research field, while also pointing to persistent gaps in geographical representation and contextual diversity, and offering directions for future research and policy-oriented inquiry.AcknowledgmentsThis research has been funded by the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. BR27100377).