charities and NGOs. It is concerned not so much with vertical but with horizontal relationships. In Europe and the United States, for example, cooperative relationships develop across state boundaries.
MLG has been criticized for being narrow and too descriptive, and it has also been passed off on normative grounds, as a means to defend the status quo. For the purposes of this analysis, however, it is deployed primarily as a heuristic device, that’s to say it offers a means of better understanding patterns of change in society and polity. No particular normative claims are made for it. It attempts to capture a complex, diverse and unpredictable reality that is the central challenge of social science in general, and political science in particular.
What are some of the issues worth addressing in these debates, regardless of the terminology used? One important general point concerns the need to distinguish between activity and impact. Resources can be invested and staff deployed, but reliable means are needed to measure the difference in relation to outcomes, particularly when it comes to the growing range of international activities undertaken by regional entities. It bears mentioning, however, that reduced public spending in the wake of the global financial crisis served to curb some of these activities, including by American states abroad.
Some long-standing activities – attracting foreign investment – may be relatively easy to measure. Foreign investment inflows and the number of projects successfully attracted can also be measured. However, attempts to influence foreign policy may present greater methodological challenges, as disentangling the multitude of actors involved is sure to prove difficult.
[14] The role of elites in this process and their conceptualization is also an important consideration. To what extent do they lead, shape or even manipulate public opinion? Traditional nationalist movements that give rise to new nationstates or that wrest their independence from colonial rule have often relied upon charismatic figures who convey the essential distinctiveness of the new territorial formation to their followers.
Modern regional movements need more sophisticated forms of leadership to make effective use of the mass media to communicate messages to followers and potential converts. Beyond the individual leader, a new regional political class may be required, which has already occurred in Scotland, one can argue. Such a political class extends beyond the executive, legislature and political parties to encompass the media and non-governmental organizations. The manner in which business organizations respond to these new realities raises interesting empirical questions.
Another set of empirical questions relates to political recruitment. Traditionally, regional legislatures have been viewed as a springboard for political careers, providing an apprenticeship for national office, and allowing aspiring legislators to hone their political skills as well as build a reputation and a political base.
More complex patterns may now be emerging, however. Legislators may be satisfied with a career at the regional level, as it can offer greater opportunities for making a difference and may be less disruption to family life than working in the national capital. Some may return from the national to the regional level, having found it more challenging to build networks of influence there in an effort to bring about meaningful change. Many regional parties have limited representation at the national level, restricting the opportunities to move there. In Europe, the possibility of a career at the European level offers an additional dimension.
These complex patterns provide challenges of categorization, and require careful and thorough empirical research, which is now well underway.
[15] Acknowledgments
This book is intended chiefly to analyze how governments and civil societies adapt to challenges from the new environment, particularly those pertaining to supra- and substate dynamics. The concept of multilevel governance gives us the elements we need to better evaluate political conflicts and outcomes across various levels of government and examine how institutions, political parties, social movements, business organizations and politicians move within this new environment.
We would first like to thank the Valencian Regional Government and the University of Valencia (Spain), where the collaborators on this book first gathered for preliminary discussions on the new forms of governance and trends observed in recent years. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Sanda Sijercic and Tristan Masson, who reviewed the chapters and provided a theoretical viewpoint on the contributions from collaborators. A special word of thanks goes out to Claude Berlinguette, who coordinated this special project sponsored by the International Political Science Association (IPSA), and Prof. Wyn Grant, who served as Chair of the Program Committee for the 22nd IPSA World Congress in Madrid 2012 and believed the issue of multilevel governance was crucial to the development of our discipline.
[17] Introduction
Borders and Margins: Federalism, Devolution and Multilevel Governance
Guy Lachapelle and Pablo Oñate
Introduction
Multilevel governance (MLG) is the watchword in an increasing number of countries, nowadays, with multiple layers of government given a say in the adoption of political decisions and the allocation of resources. A wide variety of examples can be cited, from strong federal systems to regionally decentralized states. The final decades of the 20th century witnessed the emergence of a new kind of regionalism (the new regionalism) marked by a political (cultural and institutional) structure rather than economic arrangements. The terms used to summarize these factors include internationalization and globalization, reactivation or emergence of regional identities and culture, reinforcement of substate focal points (both local and regional) for economic development, and social regulation and collective action.
Various forms of new regionalism have set the stage for the emergence or reinforcement of institutions that play a part in shaping multilevel political systems, depending on the scope of substate cultural traditions and the presence of social and economic institutions and networks. These substate tiers of government differ regarding the extent of self-government and the existence of successful non-state-wide parties (or strong regional organizations of statewide parties). Regardless of the capacity for self-government, however, regions work as relevant arenas for political decision-making, resource allocation and political debate. Many countries have turned to MLG as a way of organizing political-institutional activity thereby spawning a field for political and social research.
At its core, this book was born of our conviction that MLG is a useful concept for capturing the increasingly complex and shared nature of public decision-making in federal and non-federal systems, especially in the age of global competition. MLG also relates to the notion of asymmetrical federalism or the principle of subsidiarity, according to which political and financial responsibility is conferred on the level of government best able to meet the needs of citizens. And even if these new regionalisms go beyond a functional [18] framework for political life, globalization and the issue of sustainable development should be perceived as an opportunity to create new partnerships between levels of government, civil society and the private sector with the goal of fostering the conditions for better investment and promoting fair and participative projects. Governments should propose treaties, trade agreements and regulations calling for better cooperation between levels of governance, therefore. In this way, MLG is viewed as a system of governance within or between states. The aim of this book, therefore, is to show readers how this concept, within its normative and empirical meanings, can offer an analytical framework for the study of intergovernmental relationships.
The collaborators herein emphasize the cooperative nature of MLG, a strong federalist or functional regional system, and the non-conflictual resolution of policy problems in concurrent political arenas. This book offers a fresh perspective on new means of governance
