Glossary entry

Governability

Definition

The degree to which a system can be steered, halted, audited, corrected, or shut down after deployment. It is high only when the system can be halted, its actions can be undone, and its decisions stay open to challenge.

AgencyVisibility

Hypothetical example

  • The city’s benefits system can be halted, rolled back, and audited within hours.

Related terms

Standards wars as recourse wars Democratic vs coercive governability Meaningful control

References

Cite this glossary entry · v1.17.1 · updated Oct 6, 2026 · CC BY-SA 4.0

APA

Ethotechnics Institute. (2026). Governability. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute. "Governability." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute. "Governability." Ethotechnics glossary. Oct 6, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_governability,
  title={Governability},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability},
  version={v1.17.1}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Governability
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability
ER  -

Authorship

Contact: hello@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Oct 6, 2026
  • Version: v1.17.1

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title and version, and link to the glossary permalink.

Archive: Wayback Machine history

Latest change

v1.17.1 · Oct 6, 2026 — Editorial revision. Titles are in sentence case. Pasted spec blocks are replaced with prose and worked examples, 79 operational tests are rewritten as pass conditions, 22 origin notes are rewritten or sourced, and unsourced superlatives are cut. No terms were added or removed, and permalinks are unchanged.

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