Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance

This book presents new research results on the challenges of local politics in different European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and Switzerland, together with theoretical considerations on the further development and strengthening of local self-government. It focuses on analyses of the most recent developments in local democracy and administration.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of municipal amalgamation reforms in Europe. Adopting the analytical and methodological tools of comparative historical analysis, it examines how the history of local government systems has conditioned the adoption of municipal amalgamation reforms across time and space. Beginning with Sweden’s early amalgamation reforms during the late 1940s and early 1950s, it assesses how the evolution of the Welfare State, decentralization, urbanization, and economic growth have all impacted amalgamation reforms in ten other European countries. 

This open access book examines the roles of municipal chief executive officers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Whilst it has long been recognised that local authorities in these countries are often more autonomous than most other local authorities around the world, we still lack an integrated overview of leadership in Nordic local government, and the development of its top administrative management. This book ameliorates this lack of knowledge by providing a thorough, extensive and updated assessment of the role of municipal chief executive officers in the five Nordic states, as well as their interactions and relations with internal and external actors. Comparative in nature, it will appeal to all those interested in local and urban governance, public administration, public management, and leadership studies.

This book examines the various ways in which policymakers and political actors across different governmental levels have responded to the recent European refugee ‘crisis’, and the effects of these responses. Whereas previous studies have often focused on the discourses and policies implemented by national and local governments, this book shifts the focus to knowledge-formation and decision-making processes. Drawing on evidence from Italy – a country that has been centrally affected by the refugee ‘crisis’ – the book examines policy processes regarding asylum-seeking migration at sub-national, national and EU level. It argues that policymakers at all levels of government can be influenced by perceptions of public attitudes towards immigration, and that these perceptions are often divorced from objective evidence. The book will appeal to all those interested in multilevel governance, migration studies, public policy, and European politics.

This open access book assesses the consequences of contemporary economic and political crises for intergovernmental relations in Europe. Focusing on the crises arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, surges in migration, and the resurgence of regional nationalist movements, it explores the shifting power balances within intergovernmental relations’ systems.  The book takes a comparative analytical perspective on how intergovernmental relations are changing across Europe, and how central governments have responded to coordination challenges as recent crises have disrupted established service delivery chains and their underpinning political and bureaucratic arrangements. It also examines the relationship between recent crises and the sub-national resurgence of territorial politics in many European countries. The book will appeal to those with interests in public administration, sub-national governance and European politics.

This book assesses the challenges faced by local governments when deciding on the location of public services. Some physical signs of government presence are vital and generally welcomed within local communities. Schools, bus stops, care facilities, and public libraries are both crucial for the functioning and sustainability of communities, and symbolize governmental engagement. Conversely, other types of facilities are typically unwelcome. Waste and recycling stations, wind farms, and prisons often provoke protests from local residents. Drawing on evidence from Sweden, this book argues that decisions on how to locate services are inherently political, and that in order to succeed, authorities need to ensure that their policies are perceived as legitimate. It also demonstrates how the problem of locating public services is a universal issue, relevant to governments at all levels and in all countries. As urbanization and pressure on welfare systems grow, the problem of locating public services looks set to become more pressing, and the themes raised in the book are likely to remain relevant for years to come. It will appeal to researchers and practitioners in the fields of public administration and local government studies, as well as policymakers and public officials.
 

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the digital policy of medium-sized municipalities in Germany. Mostly ignored by empirical research, the size of these municipalities has been characterized both as an advantage and a limitation for digitalization, with scholars alternately emphasizing agility and shorter administrative paths on the one hand, and the lack of capacity and economies of scale on the other. Utilising a mixed methods approach combining process-tracing and web scraping, the book analyzes the characteristics of digital policy in medium-sized municipalities, and the effects of digitalization governance on service provision. It traces the historical trajectories of digitalization in pioneering municipalities, examines which factors influence favorable digital transformations, and analyzes the organizational structures dedicated to digitalization. The book also puts forward a typology to classify municipalities according to their digital governance, quantitatively describes the landscape of medium-sized municipalities, and delivers insights on the effects of governance on digital services. It will appeal to scholars, students and practitioners of public administration, local government and digitalization.