Rethinking policy success: the normative basis for public action

Abstract

States derive their legitimacy from electoral processes or sometimes, by fiat. Markets are justified on economic grounds, legitimized by reference to the fact that individuals have some right to self-determination. But increasingly, more and more of public life is organized, determined and regulated by institutions, both formal and informal, that are neither states nor markets. If these institutions compel obedience of citizens despite their non-state status, it becomes interesting to ask – why? This article reviews the current thinking on institutions and finds that the notion of legitimacy relating to the obligations of a citizen to obey is poorly developed. This theoretical deficit lies in the common assertion that institutions are simply collections of rules. We argue instead that institutions properly understood comprise both rules and principles and further propose that rules and principles are conceptually distinct and that legitimacy derives from the justificatory force of principles. This idea is tested using a data set from a large-scale survey of private sector involvement in the provision of water utilities. It finds that the success or failure of water provision projects cannot be differentiated on the basis of the rules that are at play. Instead, we find that such projects succeed mainly because they are embedded in a policy context that has a high tolerance of third-party governance or subscribe to the normative justifications of the regulatory state. Good governance and citizenship come together if we conceive of governance as a means of building legitimate institutions that compel obedience in citizens. It can only do so if the institutions constructed cohere with the principles held by these citizens.

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