Local Governance Networks as Public Authority: Insights from Mozambique, Myanmar and Pakistan

Drawing upon ‘governance diaries,’ a method which used repeated interviews with a set of households and intermediaries in three countries—Mozambique, Myanmar and Pakistan—to understand how marginalised groups meet their daily governance needs, we argue that local governance networks constitute a form of public authority. The networks we examine encompass a range of local actors (state and non-state), who help develop and enforce rules and ensure social coordination. We highlight the role of intermediaries who constitute the first point of contact for people seeking to resolve various issues. We show how these intermediaries and their networks are specific to each context, not just at a national level, but down to a granular local level. Decision-making and the exercise of power moves around within the networks, blurring formal/informal boundaries. We conclude that in these contexts of fragility, public authority is embedded in and exercised through local governance networks.