The Institutionalisation of Local Governance: From Challenges to Champions

In recent decades, local government has faced a continuous wave of reform, disturbing the traditional balance in local politics and policy and inducing re-institutionalisation processes. Regardless of state tradition and culture, the reforms often eroded longstanding path-dependencies. This has resulted in a broad patchwork of new institutions which are still not well understood – yet are they truly innovative or just resurrecting common practices? Our Section addresses this fundamental question. Section Chairs therefore seek Papers that discuss institutions in their broad understanding – not only the changes of formal structures but also the informal mechanisms, norms, rules, and processes which organise life in local communities. This includes the wider subject of institutional theory and its usefulness in local government studies. The main questions we pose to invigorate the discussion are: ▪️ What are the institutional challenges local authorities in Europe are facing today? ▪️ What are the mechanisms and relations behind the institutional solutions we observe in local governance to address these challenges? ▪️ Which factors define success and failures in doing so? ▪️ What are the consequences for the democratic and functional operation of contemporary local governance? Our discussion centres on five basic dimensions of local governance, namely the legislative branch (council), the executive branch (mayor and/or executive board), the administration, civil society, and territory. For these dimensions, the contemporary field of interest for local government studies includes traditional questions about scale, scope, discretion, finance, elections, transparency, and planning. Beyond those, several new notions are investigated under the pressure of institutional change: relations and networks between actors, democratic and administrative innovation, technological revolution, climate change, feminisation, etc. Our Section welcomes Panels and Papers which discuss institutional challenges and solutions for the processes pertaining to these basic dimensions of local governance on the basis of the new and traditional concepts of local governance studies. Our list of potential Panels includes the following themes: 1. Local electoral systems Chair: Kristof Steyvers Electoral systems condition the distribution of power and representativeness of local government institutions. They differ significantly across Europe and also appear to be in a permanent state of flux. This Panel invites Papers on recent reforms of electoral systems, especially those taking a cross-country perspective. 2. Territorial reforms Chair: António F. Tavares The changing scale of local government territories is one of the most frequently discussed reforms. There is a large volume of research describing and explaining border changes. This Panel invites Papers discussing general lessons arising from these changes. 3. The relationship between the executive, legislative and administrative branches Chair: to be confirmed Evolutions such as decentralisations, amalgamations, outsourcing and inter-municipal cooperation have accelerated the professionalisation of local government. This raises important questions about the relationship and balance between the different branches of local government. This Panel invites Papers addressing this topic. 4. Decentralisation and the threat from far-right movements Chair: to be confirmed The rise of far-right movements in European politics has an impact on local governance. While centralisation is the usual result of far-right policy, the ways in which it is achieved are different. What seems to be the most common way? Does local democracy provide any shield against it? 5. Local government as a service provider Chair: Katarzyna Szmigiel-Rawska This Panel seeks to identify institutional redesign taking local service provision 'closer in-house'. In times of different crises and threats, are local governments prone to regain control over service provision, or do they prefer to share it with the private and/or non-governmental sector? 6. Spatial planning in the face of climate change Chair: Gro Sandkjær Hanssen Climate change brings challenges for property rights management (e.g., water levels, land productivity, migration). The scale of these processes leads us to question the base of formal and informal institutions in spatial management, as well as the ways in which consensus over spatial decisions can be reached. This Panel invites Papers stating, describing, and exploring these new challenges in spatial planning and the ways in which they are managed all over Europe. 7. Coping with co-creation Chairs: Asbjørn Røiseland and Jacob Torfing It is argued that we are witnessing a gradual shift in the perception of the public sector from being first a public authority, then an efficient service provider, and finally, an arena for effective co-creation. This Panel seeks Papers which try to identify coping strategies related to co-creation in different governance or policy contexts at the local level. 8. The balance between transparency and technology Chair: Ivo Bischoff The digital revolution towards e-governance changes the core of local governance institutions. It also changes the ways in which citizens supervise the government, and in which government informs citizens about its decisions. What are the questions asked in local government studies resulting from the digital revolution, and do we have any commonly agreed answers yet? 9. The sources of local government wealth Chair: Julita Łukomska This Panel invites Papers on fiscal and financial strategies. This is a subject rarely discussed in interdisciplinary settings, although it conditions the shape of local institutions. The question we pose is what kind of institutional changes in fiscal and financial policies are present in the time of unexpected expenditures coming from pandemics, war, ideology changes, climate change, etc. 10. Cities as national, European and global actors Chair: to be confirmed In the context of multilevel governance, cities and other local governments have been invited to assume a more proactive role at the national, European and global levels. This Panel invites Papers that discuss the role of local governments as policy-maker, implementer and networker beyond their border.