Empowering New Regional Political Institutions: A Norwegian Case

Abstract

The main purpose of the new regional policy in Norway is to create dynamic regions through a regional empowerment process that is supposed to give a better balance between a top-down governing with an emphasis on the redistribution of activities and resources, and local mobilization with an emphasis on self-reliance, innovation and learning by doing. To achieve this empowerment is in fact to seek a balance between vertical and horizontal power structures, and between instrumental and communicative rationalities. However, the main problem in modern society is that the instrumental rationality has become dominant. The challenge is to make communicative rationality superior to instrumental rationality. The aim of this article is to illustrate how Habermas's normative model of discursive will formation and political institution building may be used to develop a framework with which to evaluate regional planning and development work in the Aalesund area in Norway. This evaluation shows that the institution building process in the area is incomplete compared to this normative model. This discrepancy can explain the weak legitimacy of the region as a political actor.