Intermunicipal Cooperation in Europe: In Search of Governance Capacity

Abstract

The governance capacity of intermunicipal arrangements is more than just the ability to efficiently deliver services at a different but coordinated scale. It includes the ability of political actors to recognize opportunities to do so, gathering relevant policy and organisational tools, choose between alternatives, assuring responsivity to citizens and taking collective action. These alliance building abilities and maintenance capacity of the chosen arrangements are fundamentally tied with their perceived legitimacy. The questions that remain to be answered related to efficiency, democracy and stability of these arrangements are inherently linked to ongoing debates about how polities should be governed at sub-national levels. This panel explores IMC governance arrangements and their political, social and economic capacity. We would welcome papers that focus on how these intermunicipal arrangements two levels interact. Additionally, we strongly encourage papers that compare this across countries.