TY - JOUR
T1 - Bridging the legitimacy gap—translating theory into practical signposts for legitimate flood risk governance
AU - Alexander, Meghan
AU - Doorn, Neelke
AU - Priest, Sally
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Legitimacy is widely regarded as a founding principle of ‘good’ and effective governance, yet despite intense academic debate and policy discourse, the concept remains conceptually confusing and poorly articulated in practice. To bridge this gap, this research performed an interpretive thematic analysis of academic scholarship across public administration, public policy, law, political science, and geography. Four core themes were identified in relation to representative deliberation, procedural and distributive equity and justice, and socio-political acceptability, with numerous sub-themes therein. In an attempt to clarify conceptual confusion, this paper grounds these theoretical debates in the context of flood risk governance where numerous legitimacy dilemmas exist. A number of questions are presented as conceptual ‘signposts’ to encourage reflexive governance in the future. Thus, more broadly, we assert the importance of bringing legitimacy to the forefront of contemporary flood risk governance discourse and practice, moving beyond the realm of academic reflection.
AB - Legitimacy is widely regarded as a founding principle of ‘good’ and effective governance, yet despite intense academic debate and policy discourse, the concept remains conceptually confusing and poorly articulated in practice. To bridge this gap, this research performed an interpretive thematic analysis of academic scholarship across public administration, public policy, law, political science, and geography. Four core themes were identified in relation to representative deliberation, procedural and distributive equity and justice, and socio-political acceptability, with numerous sub-themes therein. In an attempt to clarify conceptual confusion, this paper grounds these theoretical debates in the context of flood risk governance where numerous legitimacy dilemmas exist. A number of questions are presented as conceptual ‘signposts’ to encourage reflexive governance in the future. Thus, more broadly, we assert the importance of bringing legitimacy to the forefront of contemporary flood risk governance discourse and practice, moving beyond the realm of academic reflection.
KW - Equity
KW - Flood risk governance
KW - Justice
KW - Legitimacy
KW - Participation
KW - Representative deliberation
UR - http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:30025912-93fc-4828-87a2-2cb927daad9e
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85025452020&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10113-017-1195-4
DO - 10.1007/s10113-017-1195-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85025452020
SN - 1436-3798
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - Regional Environmental Change: natural and social aspects
JF - Regional Environmental Change: natural and social aspects
ER -