Self-Organization and the Role of Government: How and why does self-organization evolve in the shadow of hierarchy?

Self-organization is a concept that is often used to legitimize a government’s retreat from sectors in which it has traditionally played a vital role. In this article, we analyse how the emergence of new welfare services is mutually shaped by factors that stimulate self-organization among citizens and by meta-governing interventions by local governments. Self-organization seems to takes place in the shadow of a government hierarchy: either a fear-based one or a benevolent one. Boundary spanners play an important role in establishing these new arrangements, thereby making use of, and developing, trustworthy relationships between citizen groups and government.

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conferencePaper Self-organization and the role of government: how and why does self-organization evolves in the shadow of hierarchy? M.J. Nederhand (José), V.J.J.M. Bekkers (Victor) and W.H. Voorberg (William)