Karin Hasler Bücher

This thesis enters uncharted waters by investigating legitimacy beyond political institutions. While most of the research literature has focused on institutional legitimacy, this thesis adds a communicational dimension to the analysis of democratic accountability. It is argued that media and political communication are a resource of democratic legitimacy for policy makers and their actions. A quantitative newspaper analysis across European city regions shows that despite complex governance, the media filters and clarifies to whom responsibility is attributed and who is to be held accountable. The comparative approach applied empirically exemplifies that media and political system characteristics shape the way policy actors are held accountable. Moreover, the thesis looks at metropolitan areas, which are an increasingly discussed example for governance lacking clear accountability.