Showing papers in "Regional & Federal Studies in 2012"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the policy transfer and learning process within the UK since 1999, examining the conditions in which transfer takes place among central and devolved governments and distinguish among concurrent policies, policy competition, coercive transfer and policy learning.
Abstract: This paper explores the policy transfer and learning process within the UK since 1999, examining the conditions in which transfer takes place among central and devolved governments. We distinguish among concurrent policies, policy competition, coercive transfer and policy learning. Policy transfer can be more or less coercive and constrained, while policy learning is voluntary. Mechanisms for transfer include financial instruments, political parties, the civil service and policy communities. Transfer can take place from centre to periphery, from periphery to centre and across the periphery. There is also transfer at the European and international levels. As it is England that has tended to break with older policies, notably on public service provision, the pressure has been to follow its lead, with the devolved administrations resisting or conforming. The UK government has paid much less attention to possible learning from the devolved territories and sometimes has sought to insulate England from debates ...
54 citations
TL;DR: Intergovernmental cooperation: Rational Choices in Federal Systems and Beyond by Nicole Bolleyer as mentioned in this paper, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-957060-7 Multi-level systems offer as many ent...
Abstract: Intergovernmental Cooperation: Rational Choices in Federal Systems and Beyond by Nicole Bolleyer. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-957060-7 Multi-level systems offer as many ent...
43 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess whether Ethiopia's experiment with federalism is achieving the promised goal of managing diversity or whether it is exacerbating conflicts, and they conclude that the federation's biggest risk is its entanglement with the ruling party, its reliance on soft institutions of democracy and narrowly based institutions of power sharing.
Abstract: After years of centralised rule that emphasised unity, since 1991 Ethiopia has adopted a federal system that aims at accommodating diversity. This article assesses whether Ethiopia's experiment with federalism is achieving the promised goal of managing diversity or whether it is exacerbating conflicts. The federation's biggest risk is its entanglement with the ruling party, its reliance on soft institutions of democracy and narrowly based institutions of power sharing. Although states are given broad mandates to design policies that fit their local context, in actual terms, their role is limited to implementation of policies designed at the centre.
42 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the welter of initiatives adopted by the recent Labour government that were ostensibly designed to make the meso-level of governance more coherent, accountable and responsive to meeting territorial priorities.
Abstract: By contrast to the far-reaching devolution settlements elsewhere in the UK, political agreement on the governance of England outside London remains unsettled. There is cross- party consensus on the need to 'decentre down' authority to regions and localities, but limited agreement on how this should be achieved. This paper explores the welter of initiatives adopted by the recent Labour government that were ostensibly designed to make the meso-level of governance more coherent, accountable and responsive to meeting territorial priorities. Second, it explores the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition's programme of reform that involves the elimination of Labour's regional institutional architecture and is intended to restore powers to local government and communities and promote local authority co-operation around sub-regions. Labour's reforms were ineffective in achieving any substantial transfer of authority away from Whitehall and, given the Coalition's plans to cut public expenditure, the likelihood of any significant recalibration in central-local relations also appears improbable.
28 citations
TL;DR: Agarwal et al. as discussed by the authors argue that intergovernmental competition can stimulate policy learning and can motivate governments to emulate innovative and successful practices, but this assumption has to be qualified.
Abstract: Social scientists widely agree that intergovernmental competition can stimulate policy learning and can motivate governments to emulate innovative and successful practices. However, this assumption has to be qualified. Rather than market forces driving governments to compete for mobile tax payers, procedures known as ‘yardstick competition’ promise to achieve policy learning and transfer. In this case, governments participate in comparative evaluation of their performance and try to improve their relative position in rankings or come closer to best practices. While theoretical reasoning provides convincing reasons for this assumption, in practice different conditions have to be met to make governments learn. Yardstick competition has to be organized, but procedures and evaluations are often disputed. Governments have to be willing to participate, which cannot be taken for granted unless we know what motivates them to compete. According to theory, parliaments or voters can drive executives to meet best pra...
28 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare party systems in Spain from a multi-level perspective, evaluating structures of party competition and processes of party system change at central and regional levels, with a view to understanding their broader impact on territorial dynamics in Spanish politics.
Abstract: This article compares party systems in Spain from a multi-level perspective, evaluating structures of party competition and processes of party system change at central and regional levels, with a view to understanding their broader impact on territorial dynamics in Spanish politics. Since the 1990s, the central party system has become characterized by intense bipolarization between state-wide parties and wholesale alternation in government. Although a similar process of bipolarization has occurred in most (but not all) regional party systems, the effects in terms of coalition formation and government alternation are very different. Spanish regions are characterized by innovative coalitions between state-wide and non-state-wide parties, with patterns of government alternation that diverge from the central level. A majority of regions are characterized by predominant party systems with no alternation in government, while others see partial alternation where small regionalist parties form promiscuous coaliti...
24 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse how devolution has resulted in different welfare policy options taken by the governments of the 17 autonomous Communities, and how the emergence of different territorial welfare regimes has coexisted with a common structure of social benefits and rights for the state territory.
Abstract: The debate about the relationship between decentralization and equity has been intensifying in Europe and other parts of the world. In Spain, this debate has been alive over the past thirty years since the transition to democracy, as long as decentralization started and developed hand in hand with the construction of the welfare state. The question is what decentralization represents for the Spanish welfare system as a whole, or how future developments in this decentralized scenario condition the welfare role of the state. In this article we will analyse how devolution has resulted in different welfare policy options taken by the governments of the 17 Autonomous Communities, and how the emergence of different territorial welfare regimes has coexisted with a common structure of social benefits and rights for the state territory. We will also show how citizens' perceptions on the evolution of inequalities across territories do not fit the data available on the strong redistribution effect of state policies.
23 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a case study on the formal participation of the Spanish regions in the Council of the European Union is presented, showing that, even in a context of Europeanization, the central state still ultimately retains some veto powers.
Abstract: By 2004 Spanish subnational governments are allowed to participate in some formal meetings of the Council of the European Union as well as in its working groups. For proponents of the multi-level governance approach, a regional presence in the Council provides evidence in support of enhanced subnational participation in EU policy making. For intergovernmentalists, on the contrary, the Spanish case demonstrates that central government still maintains a crucial gatekeeper position since it formally regulates the main aspects of subnational participation. By presenting the results of a case study on the formal participation of the Spanish regions in the Council, the paper agrees that, even in a context of Europeanization, the central state still ultimately retains some veto powers. Nevertheless, the article takes issue with the argument that subnational participation is mainly formal and lacks substantive value. The article provides evidence, on the contrary, that the definition of the joint common position ...
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the idea that devolution in European states can provide "laboratories of democracy" as states experiment in different ways to address social and economic problems and engage their citizens.
Abstract: This collection explores the idea that devolution in European states can provide ‘laboratories of democracy’ as states experiment in different ways to address social and economic problems and engage their citizens While there is a substantial literature on policy diffusion and learning among US states, and on transfer and learning between countries, there is not much on learning among European federated and devolved governments This collection fills that gap with a series of studies based primarily on experiences in Germany, Spain and the UK (including a particular focus on Northern Ireland) The introduction sets up the analytical framework, discussing the concepts of learning and transfer, the direction of transfer (for example, from the centre to the devolved territory), the mechanisms involved (from voluntary to coercive) and the degree of transfer
17 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, two competing hypotheses on the nature of the class cleavage in the Basque party system are put forward: the first hypothesis is that the cleavage has "realigned" along the new social classes of post-industrial society, and the second hypothesis is best understood as a "frozen" cleavage.
Abstract: The Basque party system has typically been described as organized along two cross-cutting cleavages: a nationalist struggle and a less salient class conflict. While there is consensus on the nature of the nationalist division, what remains of the historical class cleavage is unclear. Two competing hypotheses on the nature of the class cleavage are put forward: the class cleavage has ‘realigned’ along the new social classes of post-industrial society, and the class cleavage is best understood as a ‘frozen’ cleavage. It is shown that the freezing hypothesis best captures the nature of the class cleavage in the Basque Country today, and that once ‘left’ and ‘right’ are understood along these lines, the nationalist cleavage becomes more salient.
16 citations
TL;DR: The Northern Ireland Experience of Conflict and Agreement: A Model for Export? by Robin Wilson as discussed by the authors, 2010, ISBN 9780719082894 Consociational (or pow...
Abstract: The Northern Ireland Experience of Conflict and Agreement. A Model for Export? by Robin Wilson. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2010, ISBN 9780719082894 Consociational (or pow...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an empirical application of subnational revenue arrangements in the case of Brazil operationalized in two different ways: one following current methodology and another taking into account rules that limit decision-making autonomy to spend.
Abstract: Fiscal autonomy is understood as a type of funding arrangement that awards subnational governments more discretion over the allocation of funds and, therefore, the choice of public policies. From this concept a series of expected (positive and negative) effects on local governance is predicted by theories. However, the adopted assumption that once local governments have autonomous sources of revenue, they will necessarily have autonomy on the spending-side is false and leads to misleading conclusions. The article presents an empirical application of subnational revenue arrangements in the case of Brazil operationalized in two different ways: one following current methodology and another taking into account rules that limit decision-making autonomy to spend. Results are strikingly different and, it is argued, are not a simple matter of classification but indeed of theoretical validity.
TL;DR: The authors examines the policy-making process surrounding the reform of the Detroit River border crossing linking Canada and the United States and argues that a multi-level governance perspective is useful in drawing attention to the large number of actors from both the public and private sectors and from different territorial levels interested and engaged in the decision making process.
Abstract: This article examines the policy-making process surrounding the reform of the Detroit River border crossing linking Canada and the United States. In particular, the paper examines the debate over the construction of a Canadian access road to a new border crossing and focuses on the role played by one municipal government in this aspect of the policy-making process. The article argues that a multi-level governance perspective is useful in drawing attention to the large number of actors from both the public and private sectors and from different territorial levels interested and engaged in the decision-making process. The decision making has been remarkably open to these actors and has involved fluid patterns of both co-operation and disagreement. This conclusion does not, however, suggest that federalism is irrelevant. Instead, it draws attention to the extent to which multi-level governance perspectives build on federalism's central focus on the relationship between the federal and provincial governments.
TL;DR: The Autonomous Elections of 2009 entailed a large change in Basque politics, given that the PNV, the party that had been governing the Basque institutions continuously since 1980, was removed from power by the PSE-EE as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Autonomous Elections of 2009 entailed a large change in Basque politics, given that the PNV, the party that had been governing the Basque institutions continuously since 1980, was removed from power by the PSE–EE. However, the Basques did not vote very differently compared to other elections, the majority voting for nationalist parties, as it has been doing since 1980, and for centre-right parties, as it had done at the beginning of the autonomy and as of 2001. In this article, we aim to explain how, despite this clear tendency towards nationalism and the centre-right, a leftist and non-nationalist party is currently governing in the Basque Country.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors formulate three expectations on how territorial identities may relate and test these using Spanish survey data by constructing a new measure that distinguishes between nested, inclusive and exclusive regional identity, and also accounts for minority nationalism.
Abstract: How do regional and European identities fit together? Building on extant identity theory I formulate three expectations on how territorial identities may relate I test these using Spanish survey data by constructing a new measure that distinguishes between nested, inclusive and exclusive regional identity, and also accounts for minority nationalism Consistent with the literature, my findings indicate that nested and inclusive identities are associated with greater European attachment, while exclusive regionalism leads to less attachment However, counter to the literature, exclusive regionalism dampens European attachment more than exclusive nationalism, and minority nationalism is also associated with less attachment to Europe
TL;DR: Baldersheim and Rose as discussed by the authors discuss the Politics of Boundaries and Borders and their own astonishment at the notion of "Territorial choice" starting from their own own astonish.
Abstract: Territorial Choice. The Politics of Boundaries and Borders Harald Baldersheim & Lawrence E. Rose (eds) Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, ISBN 978-0-230-23333-1 Starting from their own astonish...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest that a subnationally orientated structure enables a party to take advantage of its federal institutional context and enhances the prospect of a new party enjoying a lasting presence in the party system.
Abstract: The multiple forums for electoral competition that characterize a federal system might be expected to provide opportunities for new parties to use regional support as a springboard for success in national elections. Yet, since the 1950s, this has not been the pattern for new parties in the Australian federation; three of the four substantial party insurgencies in this period have had national, protest-based, origins. The exception has been the emergence of the Australian Greens with the party's origins in locally based environmental groups and its state organization. This study suggests that a subnationally orientated structure enables a party to take advantage of its federal institutional context and enhances the prospect of a new party enjoying a lasting presence in the party system.
TL;DR: On 7 and 14 November 2010, Greece held its first elections for the regional level of representation as discussed by the authors, which were held concurrently with municipal elections across the country, and the results showed that the majority of the candidates were elected.
Abstract: On 7 and 14 November 2010, Greece held its first elections for the regional level of representation. The regional elections, which were held concurrently with municipal elections across the country...
TL;DR: Caramani and Meny as mentioned in this paper explored the alternative thesis by analysing the ideological identities of two ethno-regionalist parties operating in the Francophone Alpine area, the Union Valdotaine in Italy and the Ligue Savoisienne in France.
Abstract: In their book Challenges to Consensual Politics: Democracy, Identity, and Populist Protest in the Alpine Region, Daniele Caramani and Yves Meny argue that the Alpine region displays a political culture characterized, among other things, by marked conservatism, nativism and Euroscepticism. Such transnational political culture manifests itself throughout the Alpine arch by the presence of successful ethno-regionalist, right-wing populist and Eurosceptic parties. In the same book, however, Michael Keating proposes a more nuanced thesis. While the above-mentioned characteristics are, indeed, predominant in the Germanic-speaking area of the Alps (with some spill-over effects in the Italian-speaking area), the French-speaking area boasts a more progressive political culture. The paper aims to explore this alternative thesis by analysing the ideological identities of two ethno-regionalist parties operating in the Francophone Alpine area—the Union Valdotaine in Italy and the Ligue Savoisienne in France. The analy...
TL;DR: In this paper, Bhat et al. discuss federalism and ethnic conflict regulation in India and Pakistan, and present a survey of Indian and Pakistani federalism in Asia, including India, Pakistan and Malaysia.
Abstract: Federalism and Ethnic Conflict Regulation in India and Pakistan K. Adeney Basingstoke, Palgrave-Macmillan, 2007, ISBN-13: 978-1-4039-7186-9? Federalism in Asia. India, Pakistan and Malaysia H. Bhat...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the three main areas of public sector reform: the civil service, local government and the large quango/public bodies sector in Northern Ireland and compared them to England, Scotland and Wales to identify examples of policy copying.
Abstract: Policy copying or transfer has been identified as a significant feature of the operation of devolution in Scotland and Wales. Little attention has been paid to policy copying in relation to the system of devolution in Northern Ireland, particularly since 1999. One of the most important areas of change and policy implementation has been public sector reform. This paper examines the three main areas of public sector reform: the civil service, local government and the large quango/public bodies sector. Northern Ireland is compared to England, Scotland and Wales to identify examples of policy copying in changes to public sector governance. Following this analysis a number of factors which have determined the extent of policy copying are discussed. These include; a weak policy-making capacity, the dominance of managerialist and technocratic approaches, priority for cost-cutting measures and a lack of consensus on reform among the political parties along with the operation of veto mechanisms. The paper conclude...
TL;DR: From Dual to Cooperative Federalism, The Changing Structure of European Law by Robert Schutze as discussed by the authors, was the denouement of Schutte's From Dual-to-Cooperative Federalism.
Abstract: From Dual to Cooperative Federalism, The Changing Structure of European Law by Robert Schutze. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-923858-3 The denouement of Robert Schutze's From ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the dichotomy between dual and co-operative systems from the perspective of Spain and Belgium, two EU member states that may be qualified as dual systems.
Abstract: In political science literature, federal systems may be classified as ‘dual’ or ‘co-operative’ polities. This contribution further explores this dichotomy between dual and co-operative systems from the perspective of Spain and Belgium, two EU member states that may be qualified as ‘dual’ systems. These countries are said to have developed more co-operative systems of government in order to meet the exigencies of participation in EU policy-building and its implementation. This research will be revisited by looking into the way these two countries have dealt with the implementation of the Lisbon Protocol on Subsidiarity. Is the ‘EU-induced’ co-operative trend indeed confirmed in these countries or is it time to reassess earlier findings?
TL;DR: Within the European Union, sub-state governance in EU-Staaten has been studied by Dieringer and Sturm as discussed by the authors, with a focus on the role of sub-staaten.
Abstract: Regional Governance in EU-Staaten by Jurgen Dieringer & Roland Sturm (Eds). Opladen & Farmington Hills, MI, Barbara Budrich Publishing, 2010, ISBN 9783866492653 Within the European Union, sub-state...
TL;DR: The Impact of Devolution on Social Policy by Derek Birrell as mentioned in this paper The main thrust of this book deals with social policy and how the British welfare system was devolved to the UK.
Abstract: The Impact of Devolution on Social Policy by Derek Birrell. Bristol, The Policy Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84742-225-5 The main thrust of this book deals with social policy and how the British welfare...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss internal policy learning in Northern Ireland (NI) on the key issue of public sector duties and discuss the importance of the contrast between politicians with their "limited attention spans" and the more analytical wider policy community of professionals and interest groups.
Abstract: This article is about policy learning or diffusion in the field of equality and human rights across Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK). It first outlines the axes along which policy learning has taken place, or could do so, and the policies that are the subject of learning. It then discusses internal policy learning in Northern Ireland (NI) on the key issue of public sector duties. Learning is then examined between NI and Ireland; between NI and Great Britain (GB); and between Ireland and GB. These sections involve private and public employers, as well as the public sector duties, and touch on institutional design. In conclusion, it is suggested that it is not only because of the banking, fiscal and economic crises in Ireland and the UK that learning opportunities have been undermined. This case study demonstrates the importance of the contrast between politicians with their “limited attention spans” and the more analytical wider policy community of professionals and interest groups. Power relations betw...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the cases of Bordeaux and Genoa and show how and why similar inputs from the European Union (EU) produce different sets of policy transformations within urban systems.
Abstract: By comparing the cases of Bordeaux and Genoa, this article shows how and why similar inputs from the European Union (EU) produce different sets of policy transformations within urban systems. Empirically, we focus on the common policy initiative URBAN II—promoted by the EU within its informal urban policy. To separate out similarities and differences we address two research questions: how do EU inputs from URBAN II produce coping and adjusting mechanisms at the level of cities? What is the character of the transformation eventually produced? The former question is about the mechanisms of Europeanization; the latter is about the nature of the process. To frame our analysis we draw on public policy analysis and institutional theory, particularly in terms of logics of action and causal mechanisms for change. Evidence from in-depth interviews and process tracing suggest that differences largely depend on past traditions and arrangements in the policy sector considered and on the strategic role of specific act...
TL;DR: The difference between the two concepts of policy learning and policy transfer is discussed in this paper, where the authors attempt to highlight the opportunities and issues of policy transfer in a multi-layered environment.
Abstract: Federal political systems come in a variety of forms. In some, regional governments exercise considerable policy-making, taxation and administrative power. Other systems have a mixture of local units—some having limited policy-making and administrative powers, others having fairly extensive policy-making and administrative authority. Still other federal states have developed in ways that allow territorial diversity within fairly strong structures, principles and floors that are devised by the central government to ensure a unity of services across different regional governing units. For members of the European Union these levels of governance are overlaid by a further level of governance, expressed though directives, regulations, and benchmarking exercises developed in Brussels. It is this multi-layered environment that creates both opportunities and issues when it comes to policy learning and policy transfer—not least, what is the difference between the two concepts. This article will attempt to highligh...
TL;DR: The 23 April 2012 general election in the Canadian province of Alberta was one of the most exciting elections in recent Canadian history with an outcome of national significance as discussed by the authors, which could have altered the dynamics of Canadian federalism and inter-party relations in Alberta.
Abstract: The 23 April 2012 was the 28th general election in the Canadian province of Alberta. This election was not merely the closest the reigning Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta came in their 41-year reign to losing; it was one of the most exciting elections in recent Canadian history with an outcome of national significance. This review highlights the unique party system in Alberta, discusses the major issues and trajectory of the campaign, and examines the unexpected results. This election could have altered the dynamics of Canadian federalism and inter-party relations in Alberta. As a result, the outcome was unexpected.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse intergovernmental co-operation for international decision making on sustainable development and study the federal state of Belgium, which is characterized as an ‘outside-in' policy or a policy that finds its way to the domestic policy agenda because of international pressures.
Abstract: In federal states, intergovernmental co-operation between the federal government and the subnational governments can be instigated by international decision making. That is particularly interesting in the case of sustainable development, which is characterized as an ‘outside-in’ policy or a policy that finds its way to the domestic policy agenda because of international pressures. The article analyses intergovernmental co-operation for international decision making on sustainable development and studies the federal state of Belgium. It consists of a framework that discusses the Belgian institutional context, and an empirical part that analyses in detail Belgian intergovernmental co-operation practices. Three international decision-making settings are examined—the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the OECD Annual Meeting of Sustainable Development Experts and the EU discussions on its Sustainable Development Strategy. The article argues that there is no lack of intergovernmental co-operation for in...