Analysing territorial policies in Western Europe (original) (raw)
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Geography, Political Control and Local Government Policy Outputs
Progress in Human Geography, 1986
Over the last decade, geographical interest in interauthority differences in local government policy has increased significantly. In this paper attention is directed at one component of this growing interest; namely, local output studies. The under lying aim of local output studies is to explain differences in the policies of local authorities. Within this context, two features distinguish this research tradition. These are: first, reliance on quantitative representatives of policy differences (like school expenditures per pupil or percentage of approved planning apphcations), so trends can be analysed over time and across a multitude of authorities (or both); and, second, utilizing statistical techniques to identify causal relationships. By their very nature, there is an explicit geographical focus in local output studies, yet this literature has relied on only a few geographical insights for its theoretical models. Nevertheless, both the causal relationships tested and the consequences of dissimilar output patterns have very obvious and significant geographical implications. Perhaps, with the development of a geographical focus on social well-being, it is not surprising that most geographical interest in local output studies has been directed toward the concept of territorial justice (e.g. Kirby and Pinch, 1983). On the causation side, however, the importance of some traditional geographical concepts has recently been brought into prominence by the work of Sharpe and Newton (1984). In this paper the theoretical case these political scientists have made will be analysed in the context of other explanations of output variation. In the end, this paper challenges Sharpe and Newton's assertion about the manner in which geo graphical factors help determine variation in local government policy outputs.
Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics
This special issue deals with three topics that dominate the current public debate on the regions and territories of France: the architecture of territorial institutions; the supposed divergence between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas; the impact of technological transformations and globalisation. On the first point, particular attention should be called to the weak theoretical foundations underpinning a very empirically run reform process. While the complexity of territorial organisational is not specific to France, the relatively limited powers granted to the local authorities is even more so. On the second point, the much publicized image of the "two France", contrasting that of metropolises and their globalised elites to that of the suburbs and the losers of globalisation, is disputed. If there is a social divide, it crosses through cities and territories. Lastly, with regard to the criss crossing effects of technological change and international trade, it is important to acknowledge the trends toward bi polarisation in qualifications, as well as to take into account the complexity of its spatial effects, in contrast to some popular misconceptions.
Regional and local development in times of polarisation: re-thinking spatial policies in Europe
Eurasian Geography and Economics
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Territorial governance : scientific and policy debates across Europe
2018
Much of the policy analysis of spatial planning today focuses on governance or multi-level governance in the sense of tracing vertical and horizontal linkages and integration of relevant stakeholders (particularly from the bottom-up). Thus far, little attention has been paid to the more specific territorial dimensions of governance or how knowledge of territorial specificities and the territorial impacts of various courses of action are used in policyand decision-making. This paper presents the conceptual and practical implications of the ‘ESPON TANGO’ – project (Territorial Approaches for New Governance). To that end a framework of analysis was developed to systematically conceptualise, operationalise and explore territorial governance processes. Some of the main empirical findings from twelve case studies across Europe are synthesised along 20 components of territorial governance. These components are representative of the structural and process-oriented facets of territorial gove...
Consolidation, Fragmentation, and Special Statuses of Local Authorities in Europe
2012
Many countries in Western Europe consolidated their territorial organization in the last few decades, searching for increased capacities. Great Britain, Germany and Denmark are the examples of such reforms. Certain transitional countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, etc.) went in opposite direction, fragmenting the structure of their local governments. In the third group are the countries that mainly retained the structure of their municipalities. They have local units of very different sizes, like France, which has made changes in some other dimensions of its local government system - by introducing regions, fostering intermunicipal cooperation, and by preparing special status of metropolis. One of the largest challenges in such countries is how to solve different problems in rather different local units, because local problems are not the same in very small municipalities and in large cities One of the solutions can be the design of special, different sta...
Regional Studies, 2013
ABSTRACT Bäck H., Debus M., Müller J. and Bäck H. Regional government formation in varying multilevel contexts: a comparison of eight European countries, Regional Studies. Although governance in multilevel settings has become a prominent research field in political science, there are few comparative studies that focus on explaining sub-national coalition outcomes in such settings. This paper sets out to study regional government formation in eight European countries and it builds on a dataset that covers information on the policy preferences of parties drawn from regional election manifestos. The results show that parties at the regional level are likely to form congruent coalitions, that is, ‘copying’ the patterns of national government formation, and that they are more likely to do so in specific regional contexts.Bäck H., Debus M., Müller J. and Bäck H. “” Bäck H., Debus M., Müller J. et Bäck H. La formation de la gouvernance régionale dans divers contextes multiniveaux: une comparaison de huit pays européens, Regional Studies. Bien que la gouvernance multiniveaux soit devenue une filière importante de la science politique, rares sont les études comparatives qui visent principalement à expliquer les résultats des coalitions établies à l'échelon infranational dans de tels contextes. L'article cherche à étudier la formation de la gouvernance régionale dans huit pays européens et se fonde sur un ensemble de données qui capte des informations sur les préférences politiques des partis puisées dans leurs manifestes aux élections régionales. Les résultats laissent voir que les partis sont susceptibles sur le plan régional de constituer des coalitions harmonisées, c'est-à-dire ‘copier’ des modèles de gouvernance au niveau national, et qu'ils sont plus susceptibles de le faire dans des contextes régionaux spécifiques.Formation de la gouvernance Théories sur la création des coalitions Systèmes multiniveaux Analyse du contenu des documents de politique générale Collectivité régionaleBäck H., Debus M., Müller J. und Bäck H. Regionale Regierungsbildung in institutionell variierenden Mehrebenensystemen: ein Vergleich acht europäischer Staaten, Regional Studies. Obwohl das Regieren in Mehrebenensystemen mittlerweile ein zentrales Forschungsgebiet der Politikwissenschaft ist, liegen bislang nur wenige vergleichende Studien zur Regierungsbildung in diesem Kontext vor. Im vorliegenden Beitrag analysieren wir die Regierungsbildung in den Regionen acht europäischer Staaten. Dabei greifen wir auf einen Datensatz zurück, der die Policy-Positionen regionaler Parteien sowie die Eigenschaften der potentiell möglichen Regierungen umfasst. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Parteien dazu neigen, über die Ebenen hinweg parteipolitisch kongruente Koalitionen zu bilden. Zudem haben die programmatischen Positionen der regionalen Parteien und die institutionell vorgegebenen Kompetenzen regionaler Regierungen einen Einfluss auf das Ergebnis des Regierungsbildungsprozesses.Regierungsbildung Koalitionstheorien Mehrebenensysteme Inhaltsanalyse programmatischer Dokumente Regionale AutoritätBäck H., Debus M., Müller J. y Bäck H. Formación de gobiernos regionales en diferentes contextos de varios niveles: una comparación entre ocho países europeos, Regional Studies. Aunque la gobernanza en entornos de varios niveles se ha convertido en un destacado campo de investigación en ciencias políticas, existen poco estudios comparativos sobre los resultados de una coalición subnacional en tales entornos. La finalidad de este artículo es estudiar la formación de gobiernos regionales en ocho países europeos a partir de un grupo de datos que abarquen la información sobre las preferencias políticas de los partidos extraídas de los programas electorales regionales. Los resultados indican que los partidos de ámbito regional tienden a formar coaliciones congruentes, es decir, ‘copiando’ los modelos de la formación del gobierno nacional, y suelen hacerlo en contextos regionales específicos.Formación de gobierno Teorías de coalición Sistemas de varios niveles Análisis de contenido de documentos políticos Autoridad regional
Geography, public administration and governance
Belgeo, 2000
Attention is directed to a number of principles that possibly can guide the on-going debates on governmental and administrative reform. The most important principles are the integrity of political decision-making at each self-governmental tier and territorial effectiveness of internalization of external effects, in particular the way hierarchy can be disaggregated. As the concept of a region-as-advocate-of-local interests applies to states, provinces and municipalities, interest formation on the basis of identity of self-governmental units is different from interest formation of other corporate actors. The institutional self-interest of local/regional governments must be granted a special place in the debates, especially in view of contemporary challenges (decreasing aspirations of the welfare state, simultaneous decentralization and centralization, flexibility) and the response to these challenges (shift from hierarchical government to networked governance entailing the risk that political legitimacy will exclusively be derived from increased efficiency; change of organizational structures versus change of ways of functioning).