Legitimate public participation: A Q methodology on the views of politicians

• Published date: 01 May 2023
• Author: José Nederhand,Jurian Edelenbos
• Date: 01 May 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13556

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Legitimate public participation: A Q methodology

on the views of politicians

José Nederhand | Jurian Edelenbos

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Correspondence

José Nederhand, Erasmus School of Social and

Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University

Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Email: nederhand@essb.eur.nl

Abstract

Governments seem to be trapped in a legitimacy paradox. While politicians and

public managers, especially on the local level, increasingly initiate public participa-

tion to enhance the legitimacy of public decisions, the actual impact of citizens’

input on political decision-making is often low, contributing to a loss of legitimacy.

To solve this paradox, this article unravels the views of local politicians in the

Netherlands on the democratic legitimacy of public participation via Q-methodol-

ogy. Despite the large PA-scholarship on public participation, empirical research

into how politicians view and value public participation remains scarce. The find-

ings reveal politicians either prefer participation that is conditioned by govern-

ment or participation that empowers citizens to speak up. Taking the views of

politicians into account in designing public participation processes improves the

chance that politicians will do justice to its outcomes and hence contributes to

public participation that is not symbolical but meaningfully informs political deci-

sion-making.

Evidence for Practice

•Taking into account views and preferences of politicians in designing public par-

ticipation processes, is pivotal for explaining and improving mechanisms of poli-

ticians’responsiveness towards citizen’s input in local political decision-making.

•Politicians view input legitimacy, through strong representation or competence

of participants, as less pivotal for the democratic legitimacy of public participa-

tion. Instead, they see themselves as ultimate representers of public opinion as

they are democratically elected to do so.

•Politicians’views on democratic legitimacy of public participation differ strongly,

stressing different and opposing democratic values. Whereas one group of poli-

ticians highly value participation processes that are clearly demarcated and con-

ditioned by government, another group highly values participation that

empowers participants to alter the agenda, rules, and conditions.

•Failing to meaningfully relate to public participation processes could hamper

the capacity of politicians to effectively and legitimately deal with public issues.

INTRODUCTION

Public administration scholars and practitioners attribute

an important role to public participation to enhancing the

quality and legitimacy of public decisions, especially on

the local level. While governments increasingly use public

participation innovations to involve citizens in govern-

mental decision-making, such as citizen juries, design ate-

liers, and deliberative panels, the actual impact of

citizens’input on political decision-making is often low

Received: 4 October 2021 Revised: 3 August 2022 Accepted: 8 September 2022

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13556

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribu tion and reproduction in any medium, provided the

original work is properly cited.

© 2022 The Authors. Public Administration Review published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Public Administration.

522 Public Admin Rev. 2023;83:522–536.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/puar