Independent Regulatory Authorities as Mechanisms of Political Monitoring

Abstract

This article argues that the study of political monitoring can be used to help situate the study of independent regulatory authorities (IRAs). Building upon previous work on the management of common pool resources and other literature on monitoring as a component of governance in larger systems, it looks broadly at liberal democracies’ use of IRAs as monitoring mechanisms. Identifying fundamental concepts and theoretical components in the study of political monitoring, this article argues that they can be used as a lens through which policy analysts can observe and compare IRAs, and thus move beyond descriptive analysis. While focusing on monitoring, as one of the functions of IRAs, it highlights theoretical concerns about how to best institutionalise policy-implementation mechanisms, especially in the area of market interventions and the governance of public goods.