Democratic Anchorage Research Articles

The democratic problems and potentials of network governance

Governance networks play a central role in the production of public policy. While governance network theorists have discussed and analysed their importance for governance efficiency they have not given the same amount of attention to the democratic implications of governance networks. It is not possible to make a meaningful assessment of the democratic problems and potentials on the basis of a traditional liberal approach to democracy. What is called for is the development of a post-liberal model for the democratic anchorage of governance networks that combines representative democracy with other forms of democratic anchorage.

The Democratic Anchorage of Governance Networks

Governance through the negotiated interaction of a plurality of public, semi-public and private actors seems to provide an efficient means for governing our increasingly complex, fragmented and multi-layered societies. However, the big question is whether governance networks also contribute to the democratic governance of society. Governance network theory and post-liberal theories of democracy claim that there are both democratic problems and potentials associated with interactive network governance. In order to be able to assess, and possibly improve, the democratic performance of governance networks, the authors of this article develop and substantiate an analytical model for measuring the democratic anchorage of governance networks in different political constituencies and in an appropriate set of democratic rules and norms. In addition, it is argued that politicians should play a key role in efforts to ensure the democratic anchorage of governance networks.