BEYOND ACCOUNTABILITY: POLITICAL LEGITIMACY AND DELEGATED WATER GOVERNANCE IN AUSTRALIA

Matthew Wood

doi:10.1111/padm.12178

Abstract

Studies of delegated agencies commonly emphasize the importance of accountability for these unelected bodies to secure authority to govern. This article argues that beyond formal accountability measures, developing legitimacy through interaction with external stakeholders is critical to agency authority. In doing so, the article makes a distinctive contribution by applying a new conceptual model based on organizational sociology and identifying multiple dimensions along which legitimacy is lost and won, and hence authority secured. The article presents original findings from a case study of how the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, an Australian water agency established in 2007, attempted to achieve ‘political legitimacy’. Findings show that the Agency achieved legitimacy via appeals to common normative/ethical values and developing commonly used information and news outlets, despite facing opposition from stakeholders on the socioeconomic impact of its policies. The conclusion argues that the framework can usefully be applied to other agencies in ‘wicked problem’ policy areas.

Highlights

Delegated agencies perform crucial tasks in society, like regulating food standards, managing flood defences, and assessing the safety of drugs
Delegitimation reports from third sector bodies using scientific methodologies to generate policy recommendations, such as estimations of environmentally sustainable sustainable diversion limits’ (SDLs) provided by CSIRO (Young et al 2011)
This article demonstrates the importance of political legitimacy as an institutional resource for securing the authority of an agency, beyond formal accountability mechanisms

Summary

MATTHEW WOOD

Studies of delegated agencies commonly emphasize the importance of accountability for these unelected bodies to secure authority to govern. This article argues that beyond formal accountability measures, developing legitimacy through interaction with external stakeholders is critical to agency authority. The article presents original findings from a case study of how the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, an Australian water agency established in 2007, attempted to achieve ‘political legitimacy’. Findings show that the Agency achieved legitimacy via appeals to common normative/ethical values and developing commonly used information and news outlets, despite facing opposition from stakeholders on the socioeconomic impact of its policies. The conclusion argues that the framework can usefully be applied to other agencies in ‘wicked problem’ policy areas

INTRODUCTION

Acceptance of authority based upon socioeconomic interests

Legitimation or delegitimation

Findings

FROM PRIVATE TO PUBLIC?