cf. In the given circumstances, and for the given topic, this seems very appropriate. One of the reviewers speaks of a manifesto, and I would agree, but see it as a positive. Obviously, positive and normative approaches to support actionable agendas, like ours, do not escape the yardstick of scientific evidence. We agree that the "normative-prescriptive" tone and use of "should be" was excessive. This has been changed where appropriate. At the same time, it is unavoidable in a paper which is partly a manifesto., in the form of a call for the creation of a Natural Social Contract and for transformation-oriented forms of governance. We want to note that the governance approaches advocated have been tried and tested, yielding insights for future use. The need for critical analysis and the presence of limitations to steering are acknowledged. editor’s comment 3 about being normative: First of all, we would like to underline that it is ok to be normative.
Challenges related to sustainability, social inequalities, or public governance, regardless of whether it takes place in the North or South, call for transformation-oriented forms of governance which are capable of dealing with complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty.