Whose Governance Model? Exploring the Puzzling Outcomes of Urban Governance Projects in the EU Neighbourhood

The Arab uprisings and events in Ukraine stirred the ambitious European challenge of a common framework for good governance in the Eastern and Southern neighborhood. Urban areas have been the litmus paper of uneven policy transfer and this paper contrasts the outcomes of urban governance projects implemented in Tunisia and Ukraine through external and national funding. First, we argue that, the undifferentiated governance model imposed by the EU and international donors is part and parcel of the limited transformation of local systems. Patterns of “good governance” do not survive the intervention of international donors, as national governments are exempted from advancing local models of urban governance. Secondly, we contend that local technocratic elites in charge of the project implementation operate in highly centralized policy-making processes. Consequently, contrary to planned outcomes and despite different levels of technicratization in Ukraine and Tunisia, technocratic elites inhibiting change while disrupting local balance of power.