Cross-border cooperation structures appear to be a useful example for the expected increasing mobilisation and influence of sub-national authorities in the European Union. Consequently, governance and multi-level governance approaches that assume an increasing sub-national role are ever-present in the academic study and political framing of cross-border cooperation. However, large-scale cooperation projects, and in particular EU macro-regional strategies that encompass not only sub-national, but also national and European actors, leave little room for effective multi-level participation and influence. Rather, national and European institutions appear to dominate in multi-level contexts.
This observation raises the question: How do sub-national authorities attempt to create, shape and frame cross-border cooperation projects that involve sub-national, national and European actors? This paper examines the strategies and opportunities for sub-national authorities in large-scale cross-border contexts. It uses the macro-regional strategy for the Alpine space as an example, which appears to be an exception in terms of sub-national influence. Sub-national governments have initiated and actively shaped the macro-regional strategy. Consequently, the macro-region Alps provides a unique possibility to study the strategies and conditions of influence of sub-national actors.
The paper develops a strategic-relational approach that embeds key insights of existing studies of cross-border cooperation. A strategic-relational analysis of macro-regions investigates two interrelated elements: First, the opportunities and constraints territorial governments face in influencing macro-region building processes; and second, the strategies they deploy. The constructive processes behind macro-regional cooperation highlight the role of EU, national and sub-national public authorities in strategically and recursively framing and steering (“metagoverning”) transnational cooperation. The paper draws on a document analysis to examine the relationships between strategy and structure in the macro-region Alps. The conclusions imply that the study of the role of sub-national authorities in cross-border cooperation contexts can profit greatly from relating strategic action to structural opportunities and constraints.
