Regulatory Networks in a Multilevel Perspective

Abstract

Networks of national agencies become more and more important on the European and international level, in particular in the field of regulatory governance. We find them in the form of informal coordination partnerships or meetings, (expert) committees or even supranational agencies. In the European Union these networks are considered as important national partners of the European Commission in the formulation and implementation of EU policies. However, also within international organizations they fulfill important functions with regard to the development and implementation of rules, guidelines etc. Therefore, networks of national agencies may challenge established patterns of sectoral governance, including the distribution of power and resources among national actors such as ministries and agencies. On the one hand we lack profound knowledge about how these networks interact in practice and in what way and to what extent they influence decision‐making and implementation. On the other hand, getting involved in an international network means that national agencies become wanderers between two worlds: On the national level, they keep fulfilling many of their traditional tasks and have to deal with the established actors. On the international level however, they become part of an entirely new actors’ constellation, gain new channels of influence and have to face new restrictions. Arguably, this will also affect the role agencies play on the national level. To get a comprehensive picture of the consequences of those networks we have to look at the whole as well as at its parts. Therefore we welcome theoretical and empirical papers dealing with regulatory networks, their functions and the way they exert influence, and papers dealing with the consequences for national agencies which are part of such networks.

Title	Details
The Influence of Regulatory Networks in the EU Policymaking Process	View Paper Details
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Exploring the Role of EMSA in a Transnational Network of Maritime Safety Regulators	View Paper Details
The Dynamics of Inter-Agency Co-Ordination of National-Level Regulation	View Paper Details
Transnational Regulatory Networks: Multi-level or Between Levels?	View Paper Details