Van der Heijden, Jeroenten Heuvelhof, Ernst2015-12-071756-932Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/17799Public participation is often presented as a virtue (a normative good), but the strategy comes with its own mechanical flaws. Policy debates and the literature have for a long time been dominated by this idea of public participation as a virtue, but recently the literature has become more critical, addressing the instrumental and substantive aspects of public participation. This article engages with and adds to the literature by presenting the use of public participation in implementing the European Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands. The study traces and discusses a number of mechanistic issues related to public participation.© 2012 John Wiley & Sons. http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/1756-932X/..."author can archive pre-print (ie pre-refereeing)" from SHERPA/RoMEO site (as at 6/01/17). This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: van der Heijden, J. and ten Heuvelhof, E. (2012), The Mechanics of Virtue: Lessons on Public Participation from Implementing the Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands. Env. Pol. Gov., 22: 177–188. doi:10.1002/eet.1583, which has been published in final form at https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eet.1583. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Keywords: European Union; local participation; participatory approach; policy approach; strategic approach; water planning; Netherlands Interest group representation; Policy making; Public participation; Water policyThe Mechanics of Virtue: Lessons on Public Participation from Implementing the Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands201210.1002/eet.15832016-02-24