Supporter or Rival: Developing a Network Governance Approach About the Role of Surrogate Inspectorates in Regulatory Governance

Abstract Regulatory agencies work in a rapidly changing context: their activities are under increasing scrutiny, in which they intensively interact with societal stakeholders, such as media, labor associations, and grassroots organizations. In this article, we argue these (societal) stakeholders have the potential to take on the role of a surrogate inspectorate and contribute to making regulatory processes more network-like. These informal regulatory stakeholders have no formal authority, but criticize the regulatory agency or regulatee, advocate for other regulative actions, and set agendas for new regulatory issues. These activities make surrogate inspectorates an important actor in regulatory processes. This article defines the role of surrogate inspectorates, which strategies they employ, and how their presence and strategies affect the dynamics (and outcomes) of regulatory governance processes. Building on insights from theories of regulatory governance, network and collaborative governance, mediatization and blame theories, this article provides insights into how surrogate inspectorates can be understood and what angles can be taken to analyze their influence on regulatory processes.