Metagovernance - The changing role of politicians in processes of democratic governance

Current changes in governing tasks that face the political systems in liberal democracies require governance to be performed in new ways. Governance can no longer take the form of sovereign rule but must be performed through various forms of metagovernance, regulation of self-regulation. The consequence is a transformation of the role that politicians play in the governance of society that endangers representative democracy as we know it but does not necessarily endanger representative democracy as such. A case study of the specific, narrow way in which the new metagoverning politician role is interpreted and institutionalized in four Danish municipalities suggests that network governance marginalizes politicians and consequently weakens representative democracy. If this weakening of democracy is to be avoided, politicians must strengthen their roles in metagovernance by broadening their leadership repertoire to include framing through institutional design, storytelling, supporting and facilitating, and participating.