Multi-level Governance and Europeanization

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter will assess whether the daily politics of the EU is still state driven in a zero-sum notion game, or whether states and state representatives are no longer the only interface between the sub-national and supra-national levels or indeed between ‘internal’ and ‘external’ spheres. With reference to EU cohesion policy, it will test whether it is plausible to speak of the emergence of a ‘new’ mode of governance characterized by a dispersal of power and decision-making to a vast range of actors through a process of negotiation. It will assess whether it is better to speak of multi-level participation rather than multi-level governance; and of multi-layered dialogue rather than influence. In an attempt to flesh out the relationship that links sub-national actors, national and supra-national actors, cross-border regions provide the geographical framework where these issues are investigated. Cross-border cooperation programmes boosted and implemented by sub-national and national actors and transnational entities (i.e. Euroregions) will be scrutinised to understand whether their aim is effectively to overcome and transform boundaries and the national dimension. This chapter will critically engage with the literature on multi-level governance, Europeanization and cross-border cooperation.KeywordsGovernanceGovernmentMulti-level governanceEuropeanizationCross-border cooperationEU integration