THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY ON GOVERNMENT LEGITIMACY IN MALAWI

Abstract

State legitimacy confers authority over the state so that the decisions that it makes are accepted and are binding over its citizens. Without legitimacy, states would have to use force to rule, to coerce citizens to accept their decisions. While a number of studies have focused on state legitimacy, the study of government legitimacy is also imperative. The government is the machinery of the state through which the state implements its policies. The government plays a huge role in society and is thus identified with by the citizens. In most countries, and Malawi inclusive, provision of public services is a major expectation that citizens have of their government. Social contract theorists have contended that citizens voluntarily enter into an agreement with government, where they give up their rights in exchange of security and social needs. The sustenance of this contract rests upon the continued delivery of public services by the government. Thus it is expected that citizens would only regard governments to be legitimate if the governments deliver as per their expectations. However, there is a divergence in literature regarding whether, how and when public service delivery influences government legitimacy. This study therefore analyzes the context in which public service delivery influences government legitimacy in Malawi. It finds that public services delivery does not affect government legitimacy directly. The extent to which public service delivery affects government legitimacy is dependent on the social norms, the acknowledgement of public service provision as a constitutional requirement, the inclusion of citizens in the power hierarchy and the division of power among different actors in the hierarchy. The study uses a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods.