Daniel Kübler

Explaining the Democratic Anchorage of Governance Networks

Advances in understanding the democratic anchorage of governance networks require carefully designed and contextually grounded empirical analysis that take into account contextual factors. The article uses a conjectural framework to study the impact of the national democratic milieu on the relationship between network governance and representative institutions in four European countries: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The article shows that the distinction between majoritarian and consensus democracy as well as the varying strength of voluntary associations are important contextual factors that help explain cross-national differences in the relationship between governance networks and representative institutions. We conclude that a context of weak associationalism in majoritarian democracies facilitates the instrumentalization of networks by government actors (United Kingdom), whereas a more complementary role of governance networks prevails in consensus democracies (Switzerland). However, in consensus democracies characterized by a context of strong associationalism (the Netherlands and Denmark), the spread of governance networks in public policy making is likely to lead to more substantial transformations of the democratic processes.

Intergovernmental Relations and International Urban Strategies: Constraints and Opportunities in Multilevel Polities

The authors analyse the influence of intergovernmental relations on international urban strategies. They build on the general premise that institutional settings shape actor behaviour, both as constraints and as opportunities. First, they focus on the influence of domestic intergovernmental patterns on the international activities of cities. It is found that the political status of city governments with respect to higher government levels, the strength of regional governments within a national intergovernmental system, and city-regional dynamics, are all factors that shape international urban strategies—in terms both of their orientation and of their coherence. Second, concerning the relationship between international urban strategies and intergovernmental processes linked to European integration, it is found that both ‘download’ and ‘upload’ Europeanisation create a pattern of institutional constraints and opportunities that push cities—especially secondary cities—towards active participation in European networks and the development of a clear international profile.

“New Governance” and Associative Pluralism: The Case of Drug Policy in Swiss Cities

Throughout the 1990s, hierarchical administrative governance structures have been replaced by self-governing networks for various motives, one of which is to improve the authenticity and democratic quality of public decisions. Thus, “new governance” has been praised for its propensity to provide a plurality of civil society organizations with access to the decision process. This article explores these claims based on the case of drug policy in Swiss cities. We show that self-governing networks indeed seem to have increased the involvement of civil society organizations in the policy process. However, we also find evidence that self-governing networks may in the longer run induce state control over civil society organizations, thus ultimately reducing associative pluralism. They do so either by imposing a policy paradigm or by excluding actors who do not comply with the dominant paradigm from the networks. We conclude by arguing that self-organizing networks should not be dismissed, given that former hierarchical bureaucratic approaches to drug-related problems have failed even worse. Rather, their long-term effects should be subject to further examination aimed at developing adequate responses to their shortcomings.

Actors, Decisions and Policy Changes in Local Urbanization

ABSTRACT Land-use policies have long been recognized as important driving forces of urbanization, but little research has been conducted on the interrelationship of actors, policy decision processes and changes in the built environment. In this paper, we use the advocacy coalition framework to analyse policy decisions that affected the development of the built environment in three Swiss municipalities between 1970 and 2007. We found that all three municipalities experienced the same major policy changes, namely a new definition of the role of urban management (1970s); the adoption of an environment- and problem-oriented approach in land-use planning (1980s) as well as an increased emphasis on public participation and intra-municipal coordination (1990s). Although national laws and actors have shaped the crucial driving forces of urban change, local actors, their coalitions and the local distribution of resources crucially determined these decisions in the study period. Our findings suggest that a stronger focus on local actors, their coalitions and resources could greatly improve our understanding of spatial development processes in Switzerland. For instance, as land ownership turned out to be a crucial resource, Swiss municipalities could benefit from engaging more actively in the land market.

CITIZENSHIP IN THE FRAGMENTED METROPOLIS: AN INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL ANALYSIS FROM SWITZERLAND

ABSTRACT Based on a survey of 2010 citizens in four large metropolitan areas in Switzerland, the analysis presented in this article shows that spatial mobility of citizens across municipal borders leads to an upscaling of their territorial identities at the level of the city-region. On the one hand, this results in a favorable attitude towards encompassing institutions at the city-regional scale. On the other hand, given the high degree of institutional fragmentation prevailing in Swiss city-regions, strong city-regional orientations lead to a delegitimization of the local political system. Without adequate reforms of the territorial institutional framework, the ongoing growth and functional integration of city-regional spaces will lead to political alienation and increasingly challenge the democratic legitimacy of the local state in Switzerland. Beyond the Swiss case, the article shows that the long-running debate on metropolitan governance should focus, more thoroughly than in the past, on issues of citizenship and democratic legitimacy.

Metropolitan Governance in Sydney: A Case of ‘Joint Decision-Making’

This article analyses metropolitan governance arrangements in contemporary Sydney. Debate about the efficacy of these arrangements typically degenerates into an argument about the pros and cons of institutional consolidation. The article moves beyond this dispute, drawing on the concept of ‘actor-centred institutionalism’ to argue that Sydneys urban sprawl, combined with its rigid institutional setting, has produced what can be described as a ‘joint decision system’ of governance. Effective metropolitan governance in Sydney mainly depends on the ability to reach negotiated agreements within this system. However, a rising level of conflict between the New South Wales State government and local councils located within metropolitan Sydney increases the likeliness of undesirable blockades within the joint decision system. The article concludes that a cautious exercise of new overriding powers by the State government is crucial to promoting more effective metropolitan governance in Sydney. This article is based on field research conducted by the author between December 2004 and April 2005, while staying as a visiting research fellow at the City Futures Research Centre of the Faculty of the Built Environment of the University of New South Wales. Information about the research methodology is given in the Appendix.

Mayors in Vertical Power Relations

From a constitutional point of view, cities are local governments. Some of them may proudly look back on a past as autonomous states. During the construction of the nation states in the 18th and 19th century, European cities were squeezed into the corset of national intergovernmental frameworks. No matter how glorious their past forgone, European cities henceforth occupy a subordinate position within national state polities. Their autonomy is limited by upper levels of government, such as regions, federate states, and the central state. Of course, the nature and the extent of these limitations differ across space and time, resulting in a great variation of patterns of constraints to which city governments have to comply, as well as of structures of opportunities through which they can expand their freedom to act.

New Regionalism—Not Too Complex for the Media Watchdog Media Reporting and Citizens’ Perception of Democratic Legitimacy in Four European Metropolitan Areas

As cities grow and expand, governance networks advocated by the “new regionalism” have become increasingly important for policy making in metropolitan areas. This article examines media reporting about governance networks and the effect this reporting has on democratic accountability and legitimacy. We use data from a standardized content analysis of newspaper coverage about metropolitan policy making in four European metropolitan areas (Zurich, Berlin, Paris, and London), as well as survey data on citizens’ attitudes. We find that the leading newspapers adequately cover governance processes and pay attention to both governmental and nongovernmental actors. Media content is correlated with citizen perceptions of democratic legitimacy, meaning both trust in government as well as satisfaction with democracy. We argue that there is a communicational dimension of public accountability that is important in upholding the democratic quality of “new regionalism” and of governance networks more generally.

Coordinating community governance? Local councillors in different governance network arrangements

In modern European cities, councillors are but one actor amongst many. They increasingly act within a web of multiple local players who exert influence on the policy process in various forms. Political leadership and steering are not only undertaken by public actors such as the municipal government, the administration or the council. In our globalised world, private actors are becoming increasingly important in the municipal decision-making process – new forms of governance are emerging (see e.g. Bekkers et al. 2007; Denters and Rose 2005; Klok and Denters 2005; Pierre 2000; Vetter and Kersting 2003).

La métropole et le politique : identité, services urbains et citoyenneté dans quatre agglomérations en Suisse

Agglomerations in Switzerland are characterised by a high degree of institutional fragmentation. The political and scientific debate on centrality-charges and disparities between suburban communes has intensified in recent years. But little is kown of the consequences of institutional fragmentation for the population living in urban areas. This article presents the results of a survey on 2000 individuals living in the four agglomerations of Zurich, Lausanne, Lucerne and Lugano. The analysis shows that agglomerations have also become an element of identity and community for their inhabitants. Institutional fragmentation has led to a “democratic deficit;” urban services are mainly delivered by opaque and unaccountable intercommunal bodies. Citizens do not perceive the relationship between local authorities and the management of urban services. If this link is to be strengthened, reforms of the political institutions within agglomerations may be necessary. Support for such initiatives is currently very low. ...