Perceptions of Legitimacy in Nordic Regional Development Networks

This article examines actors’ views on legitimacy in governance networks in four Nordic countries. The analysis is based on a survey of similar regional development networks in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The countries form a continuum, in which the connection between legitimacy and representative democracy is strongest in Denmark and weakest in Finland. Norway and Sweden fall in between the two. Not only the strength, but also the form of the connection, and the weight given to it vary among the countries. Article contributes to the debate on democracy in network governance.