Daugbjerg, CarstenFawcett, Paul2021-08-090095-3997http://hdl.handle.net/1885/243267This article develops a heuristic for comparative governance analysis. The heuristic depicts four network types by combining network structure with the state’s capacity to metagovern. It suggests that each network type produces a particular combination of input and output legitimacy. We illustrate the heuristic and its utility using a comparative study of agri-food networks (organic farming and land use) in four countries, which each exhibit different combinations of input and output legitimacy respectively. The article concludes by using a fifth case study to illustrate what a network type that produces high levels of input and output legitimacy might look like.Carsten Daugbjerg thanks the International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems for fundingapplication/pdfen-AU© The Author(s) 2015legitimacymetagovernancenetwork governanceorganic food policy201710.1177/00953997155810312020-11-23