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Interdisciplinary Symposium at the Hertie School of Governance

Panel I

The Legitimacy-Efficiency Dilemma:What Are New Strategies For CopingWith The Old Problem?

Presentation September 30th, 2011

Dr. Christopher Gohl

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Practical Background: Regional Dialogue Forum,Germany’s largest political mediation 2000-2008

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Agenda

I. Variations of the Legitimacy-Efficiency-Dilemma

II. Recommendations: Strengthening the Capacityfor Democratic Governance

III. Answers to Questions to the Panel

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Robert A. Dahl: A Democratic Dilemma: System Effectiveness

versus Citizen Participation• the ability of citizens to exercise democratic control over decisions of the polity• the capacity of the system to respond satisfactorily to the collective preferences

of its citizens

Joachim Raschke: “centrifugal drift between legitimacy and

efficiency” • “legitimate structures are inefficient” • “efficient structures are not legitimate” 

Fritz W. Scharpf: input-legitimacy and output legitimacy • Input: preferences of governed refined by deliberation

• Output: liable accomplishments of governing

Dilemma in regard to new procedures of participation &governance 

• Output: Efficiency or effectiveness?• Input: Legitimacy or acceptance?

Variations of the Legitimacy-Efficiency-Dilemma (1)

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Efficiency or Effectiveness?• Efficiency: relative cost of means to reach a goal / purpose – ratio of output and

input• Example: efficiency Startbahn West 1962-1984 vs efficiency Landebahn

North West 1998-2011?• Effectiveness: outcome of participatory governing process

• possible outcomes as purposes of consultation: understanding, advice,

transformation• outcome vs output and (macro) Impact

Legitimacy or Acceptance? • Legitimacy is a theoretical macro-category• Acceptance is a practical meso- and micro-category, reliant on, f. ex.

“participant satisfaction and group productivity” (Mansbridge et al., 2006) 

Perspective: Democratically accepted, effective governing• question of democratic governance capacity• capacity for democratic self-governance 

Variations of the Legitimacy-Efficiency-Dilemma (2)

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Agenda

I. Variations of the Legitimacy-Efficiency-Dilemma

II. Recommendations: Strengthening the

Capacity for Democratic Governance

III. Answers to Questions to the Panel

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Dos• early consultation processes

• possibly followed by direct democratic decisions• improve interconnection / links between formal (legislative, executive,

 judicial) procedures and informal participatory procedures

• strenghten participatory competences of investor, administration andprofessional provider of organized dialogue

Don’ts • don’t strangle informality – it is the strength of participatory procedures• don't incorporate participatory methods into formal / legal / planning

procedures

• don’t confuse rationalities of participatory processes and formal / legalcourse procedures• Don’t believe facts, discourse, and leadership determination alone will

do

Recommendations: Strengthening the Capacity forDemocratic Governance

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Agenda

I. Variations of the Legitimacy-Efficiency-Dilemma

II. Recommendations: Strengthening the Capacity

for Democratic Governance

III. Answers to Questions to the Panel

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How can the (equally important) criteria of economic efficiency

and political legitimacy be combined within the planning andimplementation of large-scale projects?

• This is more of a theoretical question than a practical question• Thesis: good participation leads to more effective Governance

What are administrative restrictions in this regard?• legal rationality• egal provisions that rule out cooperative problem resolution• self-inflicted task to solve political problems

How helpful is early/late citizen involvement in planning and

implementation of large-scale projects?• Better Late than Never• Better early than late

Answers to Questions to the Panel (1)

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What has the governance-debate to offer in this respect?Should offer: 

• focus on throughput• offer theories of democratic governance capacity building• offer theory of governance / statesmanship• Besides theories of deliberative democracy, source should be

pragmatistic democratic theory

Answers to Questions to the Panel (2)