Premium
Norwegian Local Councils as Democratic Meta‐governors? A Study of Networks Established to Manage Cross‐border Natural Resources
Author(s) -
Hovik Sissel,
Vabo Signy Irene
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
scandinavian political studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9477
pISSN - 0080-6757
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9477.2005.00132.x
Subject(s) - norwegian , democracy , legitimacy , political science , public administration , local government , natural resource , order (exchange) , local governance , corporate governance , public relations , law , politics , business , economics , management , finance , philosophy , linguistics
Focusing on democracy, the question raised in this article is whether it is possible for local councils to play a role as democratic meta‐governors in situations with cross‐border conflicts over interests. According to the authors’ definition, democratic meta‐governance implies that the local councils assure that all interests are taken into account in governing networks. The analysis is based on data from extensive studies of two Norwegian networks dealing with cross‐border natural resources. Not surprisingly, the authors’ answer is rather negative. Based on analysis of who actually participates in the networks and the way the involved local councils deal with the question of democracy, this may be explained by the fact that each local council represents a specific defend interest held by the majority in their constituency. Instead of opening up and allowing the required participation, which may give the networks the legitimacy they need, the local councils are closing the networks in order to better get their interests heard. It should therefore be considered whether responsibility for securing democracy in the management of cross‐border natural resources should be given to a regional or national authority, above the level of local government.