New Perspectives on Intergovernmental Relations

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

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2. Chapter 1. Introduction: A Policy-Focused Approach

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   Martin Laffin, Ellen Wayenberg, Sabine Kuhlmann, Tomas Bergström

   Abstract

   This book aims to contribute to our theoretical and empirical understanding of comparative intergovernmental studies and public administration during a period of increasing political, social, and economic crises. These crises have meant that, over recent years, those involved with intergovernmental relationships (IGR) have had to cope with new challenges and manage often unprecedented tensions between levels of government. In particular, new and emergent issues have arrived on the political agenda. These issues create present or looming crises in government and wider society—such as over disease control (such as Covid-19), mass migration, and climate change. They pose new and complex governance challenges, and place strains on the political responsiveness, policymaking capacities, and operational capacities of existing European substate political-administrative institutions. These unprecedented challenges necessitate a critical examination of the prevailing assumptions that underpin contemporary studies on European substate government and intergovernmental relations (IGR). This book provides such an examination through applying a policy-focused approach (Hacker & Pierson, 2014). This approach departs from the conventional institutional-focused approach, prevalent in past comparative European intergovernmental relations studies, which seeks to explain contemporary IGR arrangements predominantly in terms of the persistent and dominant influence of political-institutional, structural legacies (e.g. Loughlin et al., 2011). In contrast, the policy-focused approach contends that the structures and processes of IGR are best understood by analysing how specific policy issues are navigated by actors.

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3. Chapter 2. Local Government in England: An Existential Crisis?

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   Martin Laffin, Patrick Diamond

   Abstract

   English local government is currently facing an existential crisis over its future purpose and capacity which is analysed in terms of three underlying crises. (1) A fiscal crisis created by over a decade of financial austerity imposed by successive Conservative-led and Conservative governments since 2011, the consequences of which have been intensified by rising inflation and consequent higher service costs. (2) A governing crisis reflecting the gradual re-engineering of local authorities from their original, post-war high discretion role in welfare state service delivery towards a role closer to that as agents of the centre. (3) A policy role crisis as local authorities have lost entire services and major parts of other services through governance changes, and their capacity to sustain, let alone enact, a policy role has been seriously eroded. Moreover, the Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) recently created in the main city sub-regions are further complicating the role of local government. The MCAs have ill-defined and limited powers mainly focussed on economic development are imposed on top of the existing LAs.

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4. Chapter 3. Towards Place-Sensitive Crisis Management? Pandemic Policies in Five Nordic Countries

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   Harald Baldersheim, Are Vegard Haug

   Abstract

   The policy issue in focus in this chapter is the local implementation of covid management policies during the pandemic 2020–2022 in the five Nordic countries. More specifically, we seek to determine the extent to which national policies were shaped and implemented in ways that took account of variations in local contexts, such as, for example, varying levels of contagion, different demographic structures, economic needs, access to medical treatment, et cetera. The analysis is based on data on how 411 mayors experienced the Covid policies of the Nordic countries and thus presents a bottom-up perspective on IGR in times of uncertainty and turbulence. The main hypothesis is that the mayors’ experiences of IGR significantly depend upon their access to national levels of decision-making. The hypothesis was largely confirmed, but the analysis also demonstrated that a series of other factors influenced IGRs as experienced by mayors, such as political affiliation or centre–periphery contrasts, while formal institutional variations did not matter as much as expected.

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5. Chapter 4. Intergovernmental Relations in Flanders: What Can Be Learned from the Financial Support to Flemish Local Governments During COVID-19?

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   Benjamin Descamps, Carine Smolders

   Abstract

   This book chapter offers an analysis of the financial dimension of the intergovernmental relations between the regional Flemish governments and the local governments during the COVID-19 crisis. By examining the formal legal framework of the 22 COVID-19 grant programs that the regional government distributed, we deconstructed the political choices that were made during the crisis. Our analysis shows that a large majority of the schemes was designed as conditional grants that were predominantly criteria-based. This is in contrast with the period 2014–2019, when a clear tendency to more unconditional grants was present. Yet, the ministerial decrees’ explanatory sections revealed that relying on existing conditional funding schemes and distribution criteria was a rather pragmatic option to strengthen local financial resilience in an adequate and timely manner. Though decisions on which grant schemes to install and how to distribute them were highly centralized at the regional level, no tensions were reported between the distributing and receiving authorities. Moreover, the fact that local governments responded to the crisis challenges in a highly effective way, was mentioned as one of the major rationales to increase decentralization initiatives in the years to come. We therefore conclude that the financial intergovernmental relation between the Flemish regional level and the local level should be classified as an example of a centralized governance process, but not as a conflicted one, in which the COVID-19 crisis could not have altered the policy trend towards more decentralization.

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6. Chapter 5. Inter-administrative Relations in Migrant Integration: France, Germany, and Sweden Compared

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   Franziska Oehlert, Sabine Kuhlmann

   Abstract

   Migrant integration is a prime example of intergovernmental coordination and multilevel governance; first because no level of government can carry out this task alone, and second because its cross-cutting nature often leads to fragmented institutional structures that must be overcome. Within the research strand of intergovernmental relations (IGR), the focus has been on executive actors and governmental decision-makers, resulting in an underexposure of the role of public administration, known as inter-administrative relations (IAR). Against this backdrop, we aim to remedy some of the deficits in IGR research by (1) adopting an explicit IAR perspective which systematically addresses the role of local governments; (2) including a comparative dimension in IAR research that accounts for different administrative ‘starting conditions’ in European countries; and (3) using the policy area of migrant integration as a case in point to empirically investigate developments of institutional convergence and divergence in IAR patterns. It is argued that the coordination of migrant integration in the three countries examined has moved towards more intergovernmental coordination, on the one hand, and that the role of municipalities in this context has been enhanced—varying degrees of (de-)centralization notwithstanding. While certain convergent patterns of inter-governmental coordination have become apparent during the migration crisis, historical path dependencies and administrative cultures still appear to be factors that influence institutional development.

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7. Chapter 6. Intergovernmental Relations and Refugee Language Training in Finland and Sweden: A Conflicted Policy Process

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   Daniel Rauhut, Pekka Kettunen

   Abstract

   This paper discusses how language training for refugees is implemented by the local authorities in Finland and Sweden. The responsibility, production and financing of this specific integration service, language training, is distributed over a multitude of actors in a multidimensional governance structure. We apply a conceptual framework based on intergovernmental relations and conflictual policy processes. The findings suggest that intergovernmental relations are characterized by conflicted policy processes between the actors involved in the multidimensional governance structure. Our conclusion is that insufficient financing and unclear responsibilities lead to a conflicted policy process vertically as well as horizontally.

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8. Chapter 7. Supportive or Destructive? Intergovernmental Relations During Refugee Crisis in Poland from Local Governments’ Perspective

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   Dominika Wojtowicz

   Abstract

   This chapter examines intergovernmental relations (IGR) in Poland during the first three months of the 2022 refugee crisis, precipitated by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. It explores how the existing IGR processes either facilitated or hindered the effective involvement of lower administrative levels in the crisis management, areas of tension and conflict within IGR, and the extent to which other organizations contributed as service providers or decision-makers within the IGR framework. The study highlights the challenges of coordinating a multilevel response to an unprecedented influx of over 2.5 million refugees, reflecting on the adaptability and effectiveness of IGR processes under crisis conditions.

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9. Chapter 8. Intergovernmental Relations in Urban Climate Policy: How Berlin and Paris Formulate and Implement Climate Strategies

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   Tomás Vellani, Franziska Oehlert, Janina Walkenhorst

   Abstract

   Urban climate strategies have become central tools for steering climate policy in cities. Local policymakers must coordinate a wide range of actors, among them sub-municipal administrative units and neighbouring administrations, in order to ensure legitimate, socially accepted and effective policy. The study examines, from a comparative perspective, how intergovernmental relations (IGR) play out in the formulation and implementation of climate strategies in the metropolitan areas of Berlin and Paris. Embedded in different institutional contexts, both cities followed a trajectory initiated by relatively centralized strategy formulation with an ongoing shift towards more decentralized and coordinated intergovernmental approaches with their respective district administrations. In terms of horizontal IGR, Berlin took a decoupled approach with limited coordination with the state of Brandenburg, whereas Paris was much more closely integrated with its surrounding areas through the inter-municipal metropolis of Greater Paris. Institutional capacity, multilevel coordination and participation demands are identified as three challenges for the existing IGR structures. Addressing these challenges places significant strains on local administrative capacity. The findings highlight the limitations of centralized approaches to IGR at the local level and the importance of aligning the distribution of functional responsibilities with the rights of consultation and participation in climate policy formulation processes.

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10. Chapter 9. Intergovernmental Relations in Digitalization Policy: German Tax Administration Between Centralization and Decentralization

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    Liz Marla Wehmeier

    Abstract

    Despite the high hopes associated with public sector digitalization, especially in times of crisis, it does not yet hold up to its potential. Both the negotiation and implementation of digitalization policy presents a challenge for all levels of government, requiring extensive coordination efforts. In general, there are conflicting views if more centralized or decentralized policy processes are more effective for coordination—a tension further exacerbated in the context of digitalization policy within multilevel systems, where the imperative of standardization collides with decentralization forces inherent in federalism.

    Based on the analysis of expert interviews (n = 29), this chapter examines how digitalization policy in the context of the German federal intergovernmental relations context is located and negotiated, and how this relates to local policy implementation. Focusing on the decentralized German tax administration as a case study, the analysis reveals a shift from a conflicted to a multi-layered policy process, underpinned by a mechanism of “concentration without centralization.” Strategic and operational competencies are bundled in an institutionalized and legally regulated network for digitalization to achieve necessary standardization of digital infrastructure. Furthermore, the research emphasizes the influence of intergovernmental relations on local implementation and the associated challenges and opportunities.

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11. Chapter 10. Building Digital Capacity in the Face of Crisis: Exploring the Impact of Municipal Amalgamations in an Intergovernmental Context

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    Inke Torfs, Ellen Wayenberg

    Abstract

    Local governments play a crucial role in crisis response and policymaking, necessitating robust digital capacity to effectively tackle complex challenges. To meet the contemporary demand for building local capacity, especially in the digital domain and in anticipation of future crises, European countries are increasingly pursuing municipal amalgamations. Despite this prevalent trend, the impact of such amalgamations remains uncertain, lacking sufficient empirical research and neglecting intergovernmental relations. This chapter addresses this gap by (1) assessing the impact of municipal amalgamations on local digital capacity and (2) scrutinizing their intergovernmental context. Employing Jane Fountain’s Technology Enactment Framework, we propose a research model for an in-depth analysis of digital capacity evolution in a Flemish amalgamated municipality from 2017 to 2022. The results suggest that a municipal amalgamation can indeed serve as a valuable means to enhance local digital capacity, but sustained intergovernmental support remains essential. While various types of intergovernmental relations are feasible, respondents express a preference for a more centralized approach over the prevailing multilayered approach. This preference arises from an anticipation of swifter policy responses aligned with the dynamic evolution of technology and a more coordinated strategy that harmonizes local internal efforts with the intergovernmental initiatives.

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12. Chapter 11. Conclusions: Intergovernmental Relations: Merits and Limits of the Policy-Focused Approach

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    Ellen Wayenberg, Sabine Kuhlmann, Martin Laffin, Tomas Bergström

    Abstract

    Our book has taken a distinctive, policy-oriented approach to IGR in analysing both specific crisis-driven problems and new, longer-term, and emerging policy issues confronting European governments. We have explored the shifting balances of power within IGR systems focused on the challenges of vertical and horizontal coordination within cross-country, comparative perspectives. In order to position the country cases and policy issues analytically, we have developed an IGR typology (see Laffin et al., in this volume) that distinguishes between three types of policy processes (centralized, conflicted, and multi-layered). The authors were requested to apply this typology in their studies and consider crises and new policy issues which have tested the stability and functionality of IGR systems. A crisis is “commonly identified as an extraordinary situation, which results in escalated but temporal instability and uncertainty compared to the pre-existing status quo” (see Wojtowicz, in this volume; Sahin-Mencutek et al., 2022). Crises are challenging. But are they necessarily catalysts for change? Especially in the realm of historically grounded IGR? After all, changes do not occur all at once but rather in stages, or phases, according to various models and theories developed to put transitions into (a temporal) perspective. A classic and well-known example is Kurt Lewin’s change management model (1947) that divides the process of organizational change into the stages of unfreeze—change (or transition)—refreeze. A more recent example is Normalization Process Theory (NPT) in which coherence, cognitive participation, collective action, and reflexive monitoring are the four phases through which innovations are embedded and integrated (May et al., 2020). Of course, these stages and phases should be seen as iterative and interconnected in practice, rather than in a linear form as they are usually presented.

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