NYHOLM, Inga

Between government and governance - local solutions for reconciling representative government and network governance - Taylor & Fracis, february2009

This article discusses the possibilities of reconciling representative government and network governance in local government, and the implications of this reconciliation for the roles and requirements of politicians and administrators. The experiences discussed are derived from three case study municipalities in Finland. The results indicate that municipalities find it difficult to work both effectively and democratically in new governance networks. They have worked out some good practices for maintaining coordination and democratic legitimacy, but the best practices are demanding and time-consuming, and are not necessarily well suited to the current institutionalised role of local councillors.