Multi-level Governance System Research Articles

Advocating for human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons in multilevel governance systems

ABSTRACT Human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) persons have been and continue to be highly contested in different contexts all across the world. Their realization is an on-going struggle beyond the national scope. This article’s main interest is to unpack how the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons are negotiated and fought for in different governance arenas. Towards this end, I examine activist strategies concerning rights of LGBTIQ+ persons in southern Africa. The analysis zooms in on the strategies of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the national (Botswana) and regional (Southern African Development Community, SADC) level. The analysis is structured along the concept of contextualization. As an advocacy strategy in a highly contested field, contextualization is employed by national and transnational NGOs on two levels. They contextualize their strategies within a multilevel governance system; and they contextualize their activism practices to foster the human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons on these governance levels. With this approach, we can explain why some entities, such as the African Union, are targeted as agents of change for the human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons, whereas some are not even perceived as relevant platforms to engage, such as the SADC.

Exploring sustainable urban governance: Evolving dynamics, transitions, and ambiguities

ABSTRACT In the context of rapid urbanization and urban sprawl, growing concerns about sustainability in urban governance have come to the forefront. The study employed exploratory bibliometric analysis to examine the literature on sustainable urban governance and critically investigate how sustainability is complexly woven into urban governance as a multidimensional phenomenon. The paper addresses the existing literature gaps, including contextual challenges and inadequate theoretical-methodological underpinnings, by analyzing 2,194 scholarly outputs. We propose a “sustainable urban governance framework” that rationalizes contextual justifications (at the macro-meso-micro and interlevel) by synthesizing the concept of good urban governance, interlinks of sustainability dimensions, and multilevel governance systems. Sustainable urban governance is defined in this study as a process and system that creates harmonious coexistence among urban settings’ ecological and social strata through integrating rationalized contextual justifications, collective sustainability objectives, and inclusive urban resilience plans.

Place-leadership and power in the futures domain: the case of Euskadi 2040

ABSTRACT In an era when uncertainty and complexity are more tangible than ever, decision-makers are under pressure to turn from short-term politics and departmentalization to safeguard not only current wellbeing but also the wellbeing of future generations via longer term planning and visioning. In regions, as multilevel governance systems, no actor has the power to determine the decisions of others. Place leadership demands the mobilization of different actors to define an effective strategy for future development, by combining institutional, interpretive and network power in a dynamic manner. This paper reflects on how leadership and power shape shared vision in regional foresight processes, and the role of academic knowledge. We conduct an in-depth single case study analysis of ‘Euskadi 2040’, the visioning initiative launched by the Basque regional government in collaboration with the research institute Orkestra. We articulate five main contributions of research institutes: facilitating the systemic character of the vision; incorporating academic action-oriented knowledge; supporting the divergence from traditional linear planning paradigms towards flexible learning-centred approaches to policy; promoting an interinstitutional and multi-agent shared discourse; and lastly, leveraging knowledge transfer within international networks.

Europeanization as Pragmatic Politics: Italy’s Civil Society Actors Operating in the Face of Right-Wing Populism

This article examines how and under what conditions Italy’s civil society organizations (CSOs) have resorted to transnational activism and to what extent these efforts translate into impactful political advocacy. The analysis focuses on the action strategies of these civil society actors that have come under considerable pressure through the resurgence of populist–nationalist actors in the domestic arena. Developing an actor-centred perspective from below, this article draws on a series of 27 interviews conducted with these organizations’ representatives working primarily on issues related to migration and refugees in Italy. The empirical study examines some key initiatives that see domestic CSOs as protagonists in the transnational realm and explicates their motivations, approaches, and experiences. Conceptually, the article distinguishes between the vertical and horizontal Europeanization of CSOs. While there are notable opportunities for CSOs to engage in Brussels-centred governance and policy making, the effectiveness of horizontal Europeanization in the form of cross-border networking is—at first sight paradoxically—limited by the EU’s system of multi-level governance. The central argument about Europeanizing civil society activism is that these processes are primarily driven by a pragmatic pursuit of solutions to concrete political challenges that could not be properly addressed in an increasingly hostile domestic environment.

Coordinating school improvement: Understanding the impact of state implementation approach on coordination in multilevel governance systems

AbstractMultilevel governance is theorized to facilitate effective policy implementation by encouraging the use of local knowledge and expertise, enabling the participation of non‐government actors, and capitalizing on the coordinating and sanctioning authority of centralized governments. Whether a particular multilevel governance arrangement achieves this, however, depends in part on the degree to which it enables coordination among governmental and non‐governmental actors representing different levels and jurisdictions. Using a comparative case study of education governance reform in the United States, this study investigates how differences in state policy implementation approach impact the structure and mode of coordination in multilevel governance systems and considers the effects this has on policy implementation processes. The results indicate that a state's implementation approach impacts coordination by structuring how different levels of government interact, share information, and influence policy. Specifically, variation in the structure of the central governing agency directly enables or restricts the influence of bottom‐up coordination from lower levels of government. The results also highlight the theoretical limitations of current binary structure models of multilevel governance (i.e., centralized vs. decentralized, top‐down vs. bottom‐up, hierarchy vs. network) for capturing important nuances in policy coordination. These findings advance the understanding of policy coordination in multilevel governance systems and inform the design of institutional arrangements that balance trade‐offs in centralization and the delegation of authority across governance systems during policy implementation.

The EU as Active and Passive Political Determinant of Forced Migrants' Health: Insights from the Case of Germany.

This article examines the EU's function as political determinant of health (PDoH) in national-level regulation of forced migrants' access to health(care), with a focus on Germany. It sheds light on the role the EU has come to play - and been assigned - in national policymaking under the impression of different crises. By applying the concepts of claims and frames/framing, the article examines in a document analysis how and to what end(s) 'the EU' as a polity as well as specific EU legislation were invoked in German draft legislation. Increasing Europeanisation in the areas of health and migration has not only forced national legislators to adapt legislation in order to abide to EU rules and standards, but has also prompted governmental actors to shift responsibility for policy reforms to the EU - even in cases where not all of these reforms were legally required. The EU's role as PDoH must be considered from two angles: the Union's active potential to determine public health through its policies and laws; and its passive, to some extent involuntary, potential to do so through the strategic invoking of EU norms, rules and (in)competences by actors across the EU multilevel-governance system.

Decentralisation versus centralisation in Swedish energy policy: the main challenges and drivers for the energy transition at the regional and local levels

The study presents recent trends in the development of energy policy and energy transition in Sweden. It uses a multi-level governance perspective to examine if decentralisation of this policy has always had a positive impact on the energy transition and what challenges and drivers for the energy transition can be observed in practice. The study is based on a survey addressed to representatives of the regions and municipalities which aims to explore the factors important for undertaking proactive clean energy policy at the regional and local levels. The results of the research confirm that a mix of centralisation and decentralisation together with a clear division of tasks can contribute to the effectiveness of the energy transition. However, the Swedish example also confirms that proper coordination in the multi-level governance system is a huge challenge, in particular when it comes to financial support and consultation.

Safe system for sustainable development

This paper presents a novel governance concept for sustainable development, introducing the 'Safe System Approach' as a transformative model that shifts focus from individual behavioural change to systemic transformation. This approach challenges traditional governance models that emphasize individual responsibility in achieving sustainable development and decarbonization. Instead, it advocates for creating an enabling environment that inherently guides individuals and communities towards sustainable actions. The Safe System Approach is centred on delivering low-carbon services across essential sectors, including electricity, mobility, industry, buildings, human settlements, and agriculture, thereby embedding sustainability as a default choice in societal systems. Drawing parallels with successful models in road safety, the paper explores the potential of this approach in urban development and climate action. It emphasizes the need for a broad coalition and integrated approaches in managing shared resources, highlighting the significance of systemic adjustments over individual behavioral change. By proposing a structure where sustainability is facilitated by the system's design, the paper builds on key concepts from seminal works by scholars like Garrett Hardin, Mancur Olson, Elinor Ostrom, and Ahrend Lijphart. It discusses the challenges and opportunities in creating safe operating spaces for sustainable development, emphasizing the need for multi-actor, multilevel governance systems that can manage shared resources sustainably and are resilient to political volatility. The paper aims to offer a robust, efficient, and inclusive pathway to sustainable development, contributing to the global discourse on environmental and social resilience.

Mobilizing institutional capacities to adapt to climate change: local government collaboration networks for risk management in Mexico City

State-centered and hierarchical government strategies based on technocratic top-down approaches have proved inadequate to address multiple interacting and cross-scale risks. In contrast, multilevel governance (MLG) provides a form of governance by networks that operate both in a horizontal arena with neighboring local governments, civil society organizations, and local communities, and in vertical settings, with higher-level governmental authorities and international organizations. In this paper, we examined the role and experience of local governments in a multilevel governance system for risk management in Mexico City. We sought to understand what collaborative resources local governments have to address multiple risks in Mexico City? How do they mobilize these resources in specific actions to address a risk, and how do they interact with different levels on diverse organizational scales? Our results show that resources for vertical and horizontal collaboration were key for local governments for coordination to address multiple risks. We found that collaboration was more common between local governments and with the subnational government. Also, the most common actions focused on forecasting and prevention, as well as preparedness and relief of multiple risks. We found evidence of successful elements of multilevel governance and identified the need for further research on the engagement and representation for non-governmental organizations and private actors in networks of risk management. The results from this study provide a better understanding of the arrangement of collaborative resources underlying local government actions under a state of urgency and scarcity, where action cannot wait for institutional change.

Good Intercollegiate Athlete Representation: "All Hands on Deck"

The current landscapes of intercollegiate sports and higher education are experiencing shifts toward more democratic representation. In college sport, student-athlete representatives are more engaged in policy decisions, hold voting rights, and are included on boards and committees. Despite this shift, little is known about what good intercollegiate athlete representation entails and how multi-level, democratic governance systems may support or impede good representation in the context of college sport. This paper explores qualities of good college athlete representation (CARep) and factors contributing to and/or detracting from the process of good CARep in the context of a democratic multi-level intercollegiate sport governance system. Findings showed individual attributes of good CARep, including interpersonal skills and leadership, were based on democratic representation virtues (i.e., fairmindedness, trust building, good gatekeeping) and helped foster democratic values of civic equality, self-governance, and inclusion. The intercollegiate sport governance system supports the work of athlete representatives primarily through its educative function. More specifically, administrators were key to identifying experiential learning opportunities for athlete representatives, which contributed to the process of good representation through responsiveness, inclusiveness, and egalitarianism. Lack of administrative support and education for all relevant interest groups characterized governance system inconsistencies impeding good CARep, primarily at institutional levels where the purpose of student-athlete committees varied and/or athlete representative roles were less understood. Implications for practice and directions for future research on good athlete representation are presented.

Reconceptualizing policy change in China: from soft to harder forms of law in the household registration system reform

The conceptualization of policy change has been much discussed in democratic countries with a focus on formal legislation. However, in non-Western contexts, policies change in both formal and informal ways, and these informal mechanisms are challenging to observe. To fill this gap, this article uses the case of China’s policy process, where soft law policies play an increasingly important role in driving policy change. Drawing inspiration from legalization theory in international law, the article creates a novel typology of soft law policies based on dimensions of obligation and enforcement. Next, it compiles and analyzes a unique dataset of soft law policies from the central, provincial, and prefectural governments during the process of Household Registration (Hukou) System reform from 2011 to 2021. The results show that when the central government strengthens the obligation or enforcement dimension of the Hukou reform policy, then provincial and prefectural governments largely follow this policy change. Still, significant variations exist across provinces and prefectures in how they adapt to central policies. The findings highlight the potential of the typology of soft law policies to generate new insights into policy changes across China’s multi-level governance system.

How to promote sustainability? The challenge of strategic spatial planning in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

ABSTRACT Tropical river deltas such as the Amazon, the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna, and the Mekong are facing increasing pressures from climate change, upstream infrastructure building, and rapid economic development. Many deltas are shrinking and sinking, risking national and global food security. To promote the sustainability of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, the Vietnamese government has developed a strategic spatial plan that introduces legal and institutional innovations designed to recalibrate central-local relationships and to increase policy effectiveness. We analyse these strategic changes by drawing on three sets of literature: strategic spatial planning, environmental states, and sustainability transitions in multi-level governance systems. We conducted interviews with provincial government officials in the delta to provide fresh insights into the real-time changes that local officials are facing. Our findings suggest that the state remains crucially important to facilitate transitions towards sustainability. By analysing the ongoing restructuring of state-wide governance regimes and resource relationships across a multi-level playing field, we view the state as a dynamic multi-level system where the dispersal of power is constantly in motion. Such a view allows us to observe in real time how states cope with sustainability crises. Applying this to the Vietnamese Mekong Delta enables us to locate the delta within a changing state-wide multi-level governance structure for strategic spatial planning in which the Vietnamese government enacts policy innovations to build local capacity while binding provinces closer to the centre. This recalibration of central-local relationships needs to be underpinned by investment in staff, the mobilisation of financial resources, and detailed guidance for implementation in order to stabilise the vertical and horizontal governance structures that are developing to transition vulnerable landscapes into a sustainable future.

Constraints and enablers of regional environmental policy: governance challenges in England and Wales

ABSTRACT It is increasingly recognised that regional environmental policy is important not just for implementing national or international targets but also for policy innovation and leadership. However, international progress is limited by significant variation, with many regions failing to deliver effective environmental governance. In this paper, we argue that one important explanation of this variation is the power dynamics within multi-level governance systems. Specifically, using the UK as a case study, we identify the constraints and enablers of regional environmental policy that emanate from power asymmetries in the wider governance system. Through semi-structured interviews and document analysis, we identify the constraints and enablers faced by three UK regions: the West Midlands, the Humber and the Cardiff Capital Region. We find that while enablers tend to be isolated and region-specific, constraints are consistent across regions and form interlocking webs that significantly limit the effectiveness of regional environmental governance in the UK. This implies that attempts to implement holistic, long-term environmental transitions need to look to more fundamental reforms to the structure of political systems, paying particular attention to the constraining effects of asymmetric power dynamics.

Multi‐Level Governance Feedback and Health Care in Italy in the Aftermath of Covid‐19

At the crossroads of EU studies and public policy analysis, a vast literature identifies global crises as one of the main triggers of change. The present article provides a test of this hypothesis in the case of health care in the aftermath of the pandemic crisis that hit Europe between 2020 and 2022. We use Italy as an extreme case, where both the magnitude of the Covid-19 outbreak and the effect of the pre-existent domestic cost-cutting strategy potentially opened a large window of opportunity for change. Through the lenses of historical institutionalism, we aim to shed light on policy change in multi-level health governance systems. Evidence collected through semi-structured interviews, triangulated with secondary sources, proves that the governance of health care in Italy has experienced no paradigmatic change. We show that “governance feedbacks” have reinforced pre-existing dynamics and inhibited more radical forms of change.

Comparative Public Law and Water Crisis

Abstract Environmental degradation and anthropogenic climate change severely affect natural resources, thus fostering the need for effective tools to cope with multiple concerns. Within this scenario, the article aims to address public law policies and legislation in reference to water management, with a focus on three specific issues: 1) environmental cost, 2) participation and water management, 3) alternative dispute resolutions (adr s) and water disputes. The first part is based on the analysis of environmental cost related to the degradation and exhaustion of water ecosystems as a result of an activity (e.g., as a result of withdrawal and/or pollution), as well as related to the supply scarcity. The second part deals with participation, co-participation and multi-level governance systems in the context of deliberative decision-making processes. The third part highlights the key role of participation and proximity in resolving disputes within local communities through the analysis of specific cases (i.e., the Tribunal de las Aguas, the Sudovi za vodu, and the Médiateur de l’eau).

Governing climate mitigation in a megacity: Tapping opportunities in the multi-level governance system?

ABSTRACT Given its sheer complexity and multi-level nature, climate change presents a new governance challenge for urban authorities and actors. By zooming in on the megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia, this paper aims at providing a more nuanced understanding of the forming of urban climate governance in a particular geographical context outside the elite roster of climate frontrunners. Our paper shows that Jakarta’s participation in the transnational cities networks has provided a platform for the city to sustain its climate capacity and agenda. However, although the decentralized system of climate framework allows local cities to navigate their climate responses, limited authority over certain climate-related sectors may remain to confine the city government’s actions. Our case study of Jakarta reveals a fact that the path toward low carbon development is subject to the political dynamics at the provincial and national levels that often diverts its policy from achieving the climate goal.

Comparative Fiscal Federalism and the Post‐Covid EU: Between Debt Rules and Borrowing Power

This thematic issue examines two main research questions: What are the features, the determinants, and the implications of fiscal integration in a system of multilevel governance like the EU? And, what can the post-pandemic EU learn from established federations when it comes to fiscal integration? We attempt to conceptualize the patterns of EU fiscal integration. In so doing, we identify eight instruments of fiscal integration in a federal or multilevel polity, equally divided between fiscal capacity and fiscal regulation, depending on the side of the budget and the mode of integration (autonomous or dependent). For instance, as part of the fiscal capacity instrument of integration, we propose to distinguish between revenue and expenditure capacity. Revenue capacity is then further divided into tax capacity, based on EU/federal taxes, and budgetary capacity, based on non-independent sources, for instance, contributions from the member states. Expenditure capacity is divided into autonomous spending capacity, meaning direct spending by the EU, and a dependent transfer capacity, where the EU merely distributes resources (both grants and loans) to the member states.

Street‐level bureaucrats' discretion between individual and institutional factors: The analysis of the minimum income policy implementation in two Italian regions

AbstractThe article provides and empirically tests an analytical model that considers the relationship between the discretionary power of street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs) and the institutional and organisational structures at meso and macro levels. The proposal maintains a bottom‐up perspective in the analysis of discretionary practices; at the same time, it highlights the relevance of multilevel governance systems as institutional spaces in opening and constraining the room for manoeuvre of SLBs. The analytical model is tested to comparatively analyse the implementation of the Italian guaranteed minimum income (Reddito di Cittadinanza) in two different regional welfare systems. The analysis focused on the practices and perceptions of the “navigators”, a new professional group introduced to implement the same policy. The fieldwork pointed out different spaces for and forms of discretion, highlighting that different institutional arrangements affect discretion and the variability of practices; however individual and professional group factors coupled with similar external constraints nuanced this variability with the emergence of common ones. In this article, the analytical model allowed to consider in a comparative perspective how institutional factors, besides individual and professional ones, influence discretion.

Regional policy and organizational fields in multi-level sport governance

ABSTRACT Research Questions Broadly, we sought to explore the role of regional policy in sport institutions and understand their implications for organizational fields in multi-level sport governance systems. Our research questions were (1) how do changes in regional policy impact the way that organizational fields are structured within multi-level governance structures? and (2) how does regional policy impact sport policy implementation? Research Method We used an instrumental case study methodology of regional policy in the Province of Ontario. Data were collected using document analysis. We collected 88 policy documents produced between 1995 and 2021. Data were analyzed using a critical policy analysis approach. Results and Findings Our findings demonstrate the ways that administrative arrangements and the ideas and beliefs underpinning regional policy had important implications for sport policy implementation in Ontario. The location of sport in successive provincial administrations had implications for the expected role of sport in the province. Ideas and beliefs related to what regional government should do, and who should be responsible for the delivery of services also impacted the way that sport was delivered in the province through the period studied. Implications Our work examines the agency of regional policymakers in the structuration and change of organization fields in sport institutions. We also critically examine the linkages between organizations in multi-level sport governance. Future work is required to understand the range of regional pressures that impact sport policy implementation in multi-level sport governance systems.

Thinking in alternatives and reflecting possible futures in German nuclear waste management: insights from technology assessment

Abstract. The disposal of highly radioactive waste in Germany is a task that extends beyond the near future and is a task on which high demands are placed. In addition to the central paradigm of “safety first”, the quality characteristics of being science-based, transparent, participatory, step by step, and facilitating learning are defined as guiding principles for the process in the German law on site selection. In a project of the TRANSENS (transdisciplinary research on the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in Germany) research network, the boundary conditions for these quality characteristics are being analysed. The focus is on the question of how the ability to act flexibly can be ensured in the German site selection procedure without jeopardising the goal of nuclear waste disposal in the deep geological underground. It is taken into account that, in modern Western societies, contradiction and protest are continuously to be expected as part of ongoing processes of interest aggregation. Stakeholders and collective actors from civil society will also participate with self-confidence over time, with respect to the system of multi-level governance, just as politicians and experts traditionally do in the established system of radioactive waste (Radwaste) governance (Hocke and Brunnengräber, 2019). In order to be able to ensure the capability to act flexibly, it seems sensible to think of the future in terms of being an open space that can be shaped in a particular way. In this context, it is advantageous to recognise that thinking in alternatives (even with a fixed goal such as deep underground nuclear waste disposal) can be a reflexive practice by all interested actors. Conceptually, and in terms of planning, this changes the present and, from the perspective of the technology assessment, removes the restriction of the principle path dependency through collective learning processes (Grunwald, 2019; Böschen et al., 2021). In this respect, various futures are possible that provide orientation, especially in the case of technical infrastructures that must be created, operated, and monitored over several decades. Mid-term futures, which are to be operated until 2080 or possibly into the next century, thus become designable spaces. In the TRANSENS sub-project “Capability to act and flexibility in a reversible site selection process”, these analyses serve to provide knowledge about possible futures in the form of orientation knowledge. Following the existing research about socio-technical processes, imagination and narratives are very influential, as they steer the framing of problems in the public debate. Initial empirical results show that representatives of the interested public in addition to young adults are able to play through images for the future and think about the boundary conditions for different decision paths. Based on explorative and evaluative methods, intermediate results were empirically determined, which are linked with path heuristics to three plausible and goal-oriented selected disposal paths (Scheer et al., 2023). This showed that repository-related narratives are nodes that can support the processes of understanding about collective action, according to the Repository Site Selection Act (StandAG). At the same time, they are also sites of hegemonic disputes. Regardless of this, young adults can deal with images for the future without being hindered by dystopian fantasies. These results based on the images and narratives are furthermore integrated into a political–sociological innovation model, which integrates the socio-technical processes of decision preparation and decision-making.