Inter-municipal cooperation: a democratic deficit?

In this paper we study the existence of a democratic deficit in intermunicipal cooperation in the Netherlands and the effect of the structure of intermunicipal cooperation on democratic quality. We study both direct effects and indirect effects through the cultural climate of cooperation. Rival hypotheses from monocentric (Regional Reform) and polycentric (New Regionalist) theories are put to the test using data from all Dutch municipalities. Our findings are mixed. In terms of a democratic deficit, the general conclusion is that, as far as the representative institutions are concerned, there is little evidence of a systematic deficit. Citizens and organizations are however to a large degree dependent on their representatives to have any influence in IMCs. With regard to the effects of structural complexity, our findings are mixed. Both rival theories find only limited support in the data. For the legal regime, we find weak support for the monocentric position.