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1. Introduction -- Part I: Theoretical Considerations -- 2. Country variations in networks between municipalities and civil society Anders Lidström -- 3. European local politics: coherence, autonomy, relevance Filipe Teles -- Part II: Comparative Empirical Findings: Power, Authority, Participation and Democracy -- 4. Power to rule: The perception of power and relevance in local state-society networks in Europe Grétar Thór Eythórsson & Eva Marín Hlynsdóttir -- 5. Depoliticizing Policy Making: Do formal Governance Networks silence dissenting voices or provide opportunities for change? Paula Russell -- 6. The notion of democracy among societal actors involved in locals state-society relations Hubert Heinelt & Adam Gendźwiłł -- 7. Between ideology and cooperation: How local politicians perceive their role in state-society relations Björn Egner -- 8. New governance tools at the local level: civil society between local political leaders and the needs of local society Ivan Koprić, Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, Romea Manojlović Toman, Dario Čepo & Sunčana Slijepčević -- 9. Does Metagovernance Matter? The Nature and Effects of Network Participation by Local Politicians in Local State-Society Relations in Europe Tom Verhelst & Koenraad De Ceuninck -- 10. Partnership in the shadow of hierarchy: the role of municipal authorities in local governance networks Joanna Krukowska & Marta Lackowska -- 11. The democratic quality of non-electoral representation through local state-society relations Karin Fossheim & Hans Vollaard -- 12. Legitimacy claims of societal actors involved in locals state-society relations Deborah Galimberti & Hubert Heinelt -- Part III: Policies and Politics Of Networks -- 13. The unbearable lightness of coherence within local governance arrangements Patrícia Silva & Filipe Teles -- 14. Participation without influence? Perceived influence amongst societal actors representing elderly people and people with disabilities David Feltenius & Linnéa Henrikssons -- 15. Influental European Youth? Linnéa Henriksson & Janette Huttunen -- 16. Organised business and unions in local governance Deborah Galimberti & Detlef Sack -- 17. Patterns of network relevance in local policies Carmen Navarro & Lluis Medir -- 18. Local actions groups and inter-municipal cooperation Alistair Jones, Colin Copus, Jakub Lysek & Joanna Krukowska -- Part IV: Regional and Territorial Differences of Local State-Society Relations -- 19. Many advisory councils at the municipal level: do they add value for participation? Iveta Reinholde, Inese Āboliņa & Malvīne Stučka -- 20. Which networks for which territories Annick Magnier & Marcello Cabria -- 21. The prevalence of low-relevance networks in Central Eastern Europe and the post-communist legacy Jurga Bucaite-Vilke, Jakub Lysek, Dan Rysavy & Aiste Lazauskiene -- 22. Networks between local government and civil society and the arbitrary and idiosyncratic nature of network membership Alistair Jones & Colin Copus.

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020 ; Las ciudades, o los complejos espacios urbanos en que se están transformando, son vitales en la sociedad del futuro, particularmente en un contexto de globalización en que la fragmentación del poder y la transición de la gobernación tradicional a la gobernanza acompañan movimientos urbanos que aumentan su relevancia, ya sea a través de acción directa o por el incremento de la responsabilidad democrática. En Portugal, sin embargo, los movimientos urbanos y las asociaciones cívicas en general son discretos en sus actividades, dimensión y relevancia. De hecho, no hay indicios de que la crisis de 2008–2014 haya provocado un cambio muy significativo. En este artículo intentamos arrojar alguna luz sobre las causas de esta aparente inercia. Creemos que aun que haya algunos signos de cambio, en un contexto de transición a la gobernanza y de nuevas dinámicas urbanas, todo queda muy distante de lo que se está produciendo en otros países europeos. En un contexto de cambio para un abordaje multiescalar de la política, de las políticas públicas, de la planificación y de la acción, después de siglos de enfoque jerárquico y sectorial (aún) dominante, nuestro examen centra-se no contexto do poder de las ciudades y en las ciudades. Cities -or the urban complex spaces that they are becoming- are vital in society's future, particularly in a general context of globalization. In this setting, power fragmentation and government to governance transitions, which are indisputable and significant phenomena, go hand in hand with urban movements that are becoming increasingly relevant, both through their direct action, and as a consequence of democratic responsibility. In Portugal, however, urban movements and civic associations in general seem rather discreet in their activities, dimension and role. In fact, there is no strong evidence that the 2008-2014 crisis has brought any dramatic change in these aspects. In this article we aim to shed some light on plausible explanations for this apparent inertia. Signs of change, in a context of increased governance and new urban dynamics do exist but do not seem to follow the trend that is thriving in several cities on other European countries. In face of new opportunities for a multiscalar approach to politics, planning and action, after centuries of a (still) dominant hierarchical and sectorial approach, we examine the context of the power of the cities and in the cities in Portugal. ; publishersversion ; published

This book explores sub-municipal units? (SMU) role in decision making, decentralized institutional innovation, social innovation and, in rural areas, service delivery. Focusing on fourteen European countries, the book examines the impact of political cultures, administrative traditions and local government systems on the functioning of the SMUs. An under-explored topic in the literature, this book provides a comprehensive, comparative European, thematically broad, descriptive book on sub-municipal governance.#xE032

This book explores sub-municipal units (SMU) role in decision making, decentralized institutional innovation, social innovation and, in rural areas, service delivery. Focusing on fourteen European countries, the book examines the impact of political cultures, administrative traditions and local government systems on the functioning of the SMUs. An under-explored topic in the literature, this book provides a comprehensive, comparative European, thematically broad, descriptive book on sub-municipal governance.#xE032

This book focuses on local state-society relations, understood as institutionalised relations between local municipalities across Europe and individual, collective or corporate societal actors. It presents a typology of local statesociety relations, and applies this to characterise the most relevant institutionalised relations between local government and societal actors at the municipal level in 22 European countries. The comparative volume will clarify whether or not patterns can be detected in the makeup of different types of networks; whether or not these patterns are country-specific or policy-specific; and why cases exist which are so distinct that they are not subsumable under a certain pattern. Taken together, this book will go beyond national typologies to emphasise the role of agency and innovation in particular policy sectors, providing a major contribution in the study of the local governance of Europe. It will appeal to scholars and students of local governance, public administration, urban planning and European studies. Bjorn Egner is Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Political Science, Technische Universitat Darmstadt, Germany. His research interests include local politics, housing policy and fiscal policy. Hubert Heinelt is Professor of Public Administration, Public Policy and Urban Research at the Technische Universitat Darmstadt, Germany. Between 2010 and 2013 he was President of the European Urban Research Association. Jakub Lysek is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic. His research interests include local politics and electoral behaviour. Patricia Silva is Assistant Professor in the Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Her research interests include political parties, public administration, and local governance. Filipe Teles is Pro-Rector for Regional Development and Urban Policies at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. His research interests include governance, local administration, territorial reform and political leadership.

Following the challenges of the European Union (EU), member states have adopted circular economy (CE) plans and strategies, with objectives and measures to foster circularity. Although the concept of CE refers to various natural resources such as water and land, little is known on how current CE policies are integrating these environmental resources. This article assesses how water and land concerns are embedded in the EU CE action plans issued in 2015 and 2020 and a set of nine member states' subse- quent national plans. The assessment used a content analysis based on two variables, the frequency of water and land' related terms and the consistency of their inclusion within the plans. The findings reveal that neither water nor land emerge as major concerns in the CE plans, in comparison to materials or waste. Also, they are not consistently associated with the typical components of the plans namely problem-showcase, objectives, strategies and measures, stakeholders, and CE performance indicators. Nevertheless, the embeddedness of water is more evident in the plans of southern countries, whereas land concerns are much more erratic. If water and land concerns, are to be at the forefront of the transition to circularity, as the literature recommends, and if these plans are expected to offer an inte-grated approach of the CE concept, further efforts should be made to ensure their embeddednes. ; published