Paper short abstract:

Service delivery is seen to create more legitimate states. But the evidence for this view is thinly spread. Drawing on survey data from almost 10,000 respondents across five countries, this paper sheds new empirical light on the links between service delivery and people’s perceptions of government.

Paper long abstract:

The conversion of 'rule by domination' into 'rule by authority' is dependent on an accumulation of legitimacy. But how do actors gain the trust, confidence and consent of those they seek to rule, both during and after conflict? And what can aid agencies do to support this? The governance literature suggests that legitimacy comes in different forms, and can thus be built through various means. One approach sees legitimacy as an output- or performance-based product. This view predicts that governments become legitimate when they deliver stuff that's good for citizens (security, jobs, basic services). Historical evidence from particular contexts lends broad support to the idea that public services can help cement in a social contract between citizens and young states, but recent research has raised questions over whether legitimacy can simply be bought through delivery. Drawing on survey data from five fragile and conflict-affected countries (FCAS), this paper argues that the provision of basic services is a necessary but insufficient condition for the accumulation of legitimacy. We show that how services get delivered - the processes of planning, implementation and accountability - matter just as much than what is actually provided. These findings suggest that legitimacy is the outcome of both performance and process functions. There are two implications: 1) it demands that donors pay closer attention to the everyday detail of how services are delivered; and 2) it reinforces the notion that public services have the potential act as vehicles of interaction and engagement between states and citizens.