PACIFIC ECONOMIC BULLETIN Government legitimacy in Papua New Guinea, 1992–2005 Alphonse Gelu Government legitimacy has been problematic in Papua Alphonse Gelu is a lecturer New Guinea due to successive governments failing to with the Political Science adhere to practices that sustain good governance. This Strand, University of Papua article interprets the practices and decisions of New Guinea. successive governments from 1992 to the present that led to the emergence of non-legitimate power. Lack of experience and knowledge are a visible impediment to legitimacy, especially from the perspective of the rural areas. In order to ensure legitimacy, government decisions must comply consistently with democratic and constitutional requirements and thus avoid the appearance of arbitrary decisionmaking. The act of governing demands certain powers and functions of the different arms requirements for a government to make its of government and outlines the major civil authority binding. The requirements refer to and political rights of the citizens. The the source(s) of authority that governments government is required to follow what is must have in order for them to expect written in the constitution. In other words obedience from the citizens. Obedience for the act of following the rules set out in the the most part is voluntary but there are also constitution gives the government the requirements for compulsory obedience. legitimacy that it needs in order to stay in Despite its undemocratic nature, compulsory office and be respected by society. obedience is preferred because those who Legitimacy can be described as an will be affected recognise the right for the instrument for governing. That is, a government to impose such compulsory government has to have legitimacy in order discretion. For democratic regimes, the first for it to govern. Being in office and making and foremost source of authority is the policies and decisions for the common good constitution. The constitution defines the of society requires the government to have 54 Pacific Economic Bulletin Volume 21 Number 1 2006 © Asia Pacific Press GOVERNMENT LEGITIMACY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA, 1992–2005 legitimacy for carrying out those tasks. How Thus, policy implementation is the well have the various governments in Papua responsibility of the bureaucracy. According New Guinea over the period 1992 to 2005 to Heywood (1997) the main functions of the maintained the level of legitimacy while in bureaucracy are office? This is the central question discussed • carrying out administration in the paper. • offering policy advice The paper begins by looking at the definition and descriptions of legitimacy and • articulating and aggregating interests government. The second part looks at how • maintaining political stability well governments in Papua New Guinea (1997:345). have been able to maintain legitimacy during It is through the carrying out of the their rule. The third part discusses specific specific roles of the political executive and issues affecting legitimacy in Papua New the administrative executive that legitimacy Guinea. The final part offers some can be identified. That is, the roles must be suggestions on how to improve legitimacy carried out according to conventional in Papua New Guinea. practices as required within a liberal democratic framework. An important element Definitions of legitimacy required within the specific roles is the need to adhere to the rules and Government regulations that provide the framework for the specific roles. If the rules are not observed A government in a modern democratic then the government will face a legitimacy society is comprised of three institutions. crisis. They are the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. These three institutions, which Legitimacy are commonly referred to as the ‘arms of Legitimacy deals with how power is government’, have clearly stated constitut- exercised and how power can justify itself to ional roles. These roles are closely guided by enable democratic governments to govern the principle of the separation of powers, and exercise their authority. Most which ensures that there is a clear process of importantly it enables the people to accept ‘checks and balances’. The paper concentrates and recognise that authority. Legitimacy is on the executive arm of government, which the foundation of government power. It is includes the Cabinet (political executive) and exercised both with a consciousness on the the bureaucracy (administrative executive). government’s part that it has the right to These two institutions also have specific govern and some recognition by the governed roles to play. The main functions of the of that right. political executive are According to McLean (1996), legitimacy • ceremonial duties is the property that a regime’s procedures • control of policymaking for making and enforcing laws are acceptable • popular political leadership to its subjects. The procedures are based on the authority of the regime being recognised • bureaucratic management as legal or lawful. For democracies the • crisis response (Heywood 1997:317). origins of legitimate authority rest on the idea The bureaucracy implements the laws of constitutionalism. This is because it is the and policies that are proposed by the constitution that provides the means through executive and passed by the legislature. which modern States can operate. 55 Pacific Economic Bulletin Volume 21 Number 1 2006 © Asia Pacific Press PACIFIC ECONOMIC BULLETIN According to Heywood, Once the rules or laws are breached the The term legitimacy broadly means legitimacy or the right of the government to rightfulness. Legitimacy therefore govern and issue its authority declines. This confers on an order or commands an decline could be indicated by the refusal of authorative or binding character, thus citizens to comply with directions from the transforming power into authority. It government. differs from legality in that the latter David Beetham (1991) provided a useful does not necessarily guarantee that a analysis of the concept of legitimacy. According government is respected or that its to Beetham, the key to understanding the citizens acknowledge a duty of concept of legitimacy lies in the recognition obedience (1997:193). that it is multi-dimensional in character. Power can said to be legitimate to the extent that The German sociologist Max Weber was a leading theorist in the study of legitimacy. • it conforms to established rules Weber identified three sources of legitimacy: • the rules can be justified by reference to tradition, charisma, and rational legal beliefs shared by both dominant and authority. While all three sources of authority subordinate, and exist in many developing democracies such • there is evidence of consent by the as Papua New Guinea, it is rational legal subordinate to the particular power authority that defines the working of most relation (1991:16). modern democracies. According to Beetham (1991) also refers to these three Heywood (1997), the power of a president, bases of legitimacy as levels of power. The prime minister, or government official is first, he refers to as the level of legality. Power determined in the final analysis by formal, is legitimate insofar as it is acquired and constitutional rules, which constrain or limit exercised in accordance with established what an office holder is able to do. The rules, whether these are conventional or legal advantage of this authority is that, as it is in form. These rules can be unwritten, as attached to an office rather than a person, it informal conventions, or they may be is far less likely to be abused or to give rise to formalised in legal codes or judgments. injustice. The second level of legitimacy is that of Legitimacy, as an important foundation normative justifiability. This level means that for modern governments, is closely related to power is legitimate to the extent that it can be another important democratic principle, the shown to derive from a valid source of rule of law. In democracies the rule of law authority, and to fulfill the rightful ends or provides government legitimacy. Abuse of purposes of government. This also means the rule of law will result in the decline that power is legitimate to the extent that the of legitimacy. This is because modern rules of power can be justified in terms of democracies operate mostly on rational legal beliefs shared by both dominant and authority in which rules or laws govern the subordinate. What kinds of justification and operations of the government. The application what kinds of belief are needed? (Beetham of rules, which forms the major part of rational 1991:17). legal authority, is seen as the origin of the The third level of legitimacy according means of applying legitimate authority. to Beetham is that of legitimation. This means Rational legal authority rests on belief in the that power is legitimated when it is publicly legality of enacted rules and the right of those acknowledged by relevant subordinates in positions of authority to issue commands. through actions, which confirms their 56 Pacific Economic Bulletin Volume 21 Number 1 2006 © Asia Pacific Press GOVERNMENT LEGITIMACY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA, 1992–2005 acceptance of it, and when it is expressly result of the closure of the Panguna Mine on recognised by other legitimate authorities. Bounganville and the financial crisis that led This level of legitimacy involves the to the floating of the country’s currency in demonstrable expression