A critique of the participation norm in marine governance: Bringing legitimacy into the frame

• Published in: Environmental science & policy Vol. 126; pp. 31 - 38
• Main Authors: Fudge, Maree, Alexander, Karen, Ogier, Emily, Leith, Peat, Haward, Marcus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-12-2021
• Subjects: Governance; Marine; Participation; Participation norm; Political representation; Social-ecological systems; Participation norm; Participation; Social-ecological systems; Marine; Political representation; Governance
• ISSN: 1462-9011; 1873-6416
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.09.015

Citizen and stakeholder participation is held to bolster the democratic legitimacy of. marine governance by building trust in the decision-making system through inclusion.However, a growing body of literature points to increasing disillusionment and.exclusion, and thus decreased legitimacy. In this study we apply a ‘legitimacy lens’ to.examine a dominant conceptualisation of participation in marine governance. We.argue that the social-ecological systems paradigm (SES) exerts a substantial.intellectual influence within marine governance. We identify that an ontological.underpinning of the conceptualisation of participation within this paradigm results in the.absence of a coherent articulation of democratic legitimacy in marine governance.scholarship. We suggest that the development of a more nuanced and overt account of.democratic legitimacy is necessary to strengthening the application of SES-informed.marine governance practices
•We present a novel analytic lens to examine legitimacy in governance arrangements.•Participation in marine governance is ruled by a social-ecological systems frame.•The social-ecological systems framing of participation lacks democratic legitimacy.