Policy scholars typically assume that implementing actors should follow democratically decided rules in linear, predictable ways. However, this assumption does not factor in the operational challenges and multiple accountability relations facing policy implementers in contemporary, hybrid policy implementation settings. Shifting the focus to throughput (governance process) and output legitimacy (results), this paper explores how throughput dimensions affect the implementation of policy outputs. We study a hybrid policy—the Swiss Forest Policy 2020—in a federalist, multi-level implementation context. We find that accountability dilemmas have negative consequences for output implementation, particularly when professionalism clashes with rules. Accountability dilemmas are exacerbated by policy incoherence and interact with policy ambiguity. However, high issue salience can partially compensate for the negative effects of these factors. In sum, we highlight how the role of implementing actors in democratic countries goes beyond rule-following: accountability relations and other throughput dimensions crucially affect output legitimacy.

中文翻译：

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在瑞士森林政策实施中将吞吐量和产出合法性联系起来

政策学者通常假设执行者应该以线性、可预测的方式遵循民主决定的规则。然而，这一假设并未将政策实施者在当代混合政策实施环境中面临的运营挑战和多重问责关系考虑在内。本文将重点转移到吞吐量（治理过程）和输出合法性（结果）上，探讨了吞吐量维度如何影响政策输出的实施。我们在联邦制、多层次的实施环境中研究了一项混合政策——2020 年瑞士森林政策。我们发现问责困境会对产出实施产生负面影响，尤其是当专业精神与规则发生冲突时。政策的不连贯性和政策的模糊性加剧了问责困境。然而，高问题显着性可以部分补偿这些因素的负面影响。总而言之，我们强调了民主国家中实施参与者的作用如何超越规则遵循：问责关系和其他吞吐量维度对产出合法性产生了至关重要的影响。