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Date Submitted: 04/15/2013 05:39 AM
Analyse the implications of the development of multi-level governance
for local authorities
Organisations at other levels- regional, national, European and even international clearly affect
local services and decisions (Leach & Percy-Smith, 2001: 9)
Introduction
This paper will consider the implications of the development of multi-level governance for
local authorities in England. The term `multi-level governance' itself will be explored and
questioned in the context of existing academic literature on the subject. As it is impossible
to consider the impact of all tiers of governance on local government, the focus will be on
the implications of the development of supranational (EU) and sub-national (regional)
levels. It is felt that these are the most appropriate areas for discussion, as the phrase `multilevel
governance' initially emerged out of attempts to capture the development of a
supranational tier of governance, and the regional agenda is a particularly current area of
development.
What is multi-level governance?
Gary Marks developed the term `multi-level governance' to define developments in EU
structural policy following its major reform (including the introduction of the partnership
principle) in 19881 (Marks, 1993). Multi-level governance means:
...no pre judgements about the hierarchical order of institutions: global patterns of
governance can hook up with local institutions, just as local or regional coalitions of
' The partnership principle gave sub-national actors a formal role in the implementation process for the first
time.
2
Student ID: 0460155
actors can bypass the nation-state level and pursue their interests in international
arenas (Pierre & Stoker, 2000: 30)
This is suggestive of a new (post-Westphalian) form of politics, which requires networks
of actors rather than a single agency working alone, to design and deliver policy. The
theory of `multi-level governance' has predominantly been developed by critics in...