KYBERNOLOGY AS AN ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE IN GOVERNMENTAL SCIENCE FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH: A CRITICAL COMPARISON WITH GOVERNANCE THEORY

Abstract

This article positions Kybernology as a Global South—rooted alternative in governmental science, engaging the mainstream governance paradigm in critical dialogue. Drawing on a systematic literature review (SLR) of 27 publications (1964–2025) from Scopus and Google Scholar, it synthesizes insights across ontology, epistemology, and axiology, and across macro, meso, and micro levels. Findings show governance excels in architecture and instruments (network design and accountability), while Kybernology foregrounds state–citizen relations and process values (procedural fairness, responsibility, and service recovery). Epistemically, standard good governance indicators should be complemented by citizen experience–based measures, i.e., trust, fairness, dignity, and civic voice, as coequal evidence. The article proposes a Hybrid Governance–Kybernology Model, encompassing macro institutional architecture, meso process values, and micro citizen control, undergirded by an epistemic layer of cognitive justice. Overall, government performance depends on the combination of institutional effectiveness and relational legitimacy. Kybernology is, therefore, not merely acritique but a strategic Indonesian contribution that enriches global theories and practices of governance.

Keywords: Kybernology, governance theory, government studies, Global South epistemology