Institutional Participation as a Question of Legitimacy in Structural Reforms

Abstract

Creating new government levels through structural reforms also changes the settings of institutional participation. In this article, institutional participation is scrutinized as a question of legitimacy in changing the local government by focusing on the effects of creating regional self-government. To investigate this question, this article utilizes a triangulation of data and methods through statistics, a survey, and interviews. By considering many viewpoints, it is possible to create a general view of the diverse interpretations of the question. The study shows that structural reforms not only change the structures of participation but also require organizational “sponginess” for citizen involvement in order to create a new, legitimate government level.