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What relations exist between processes for transferring public action solutions between countries, between territories within the same national space and between different sectors and levels of government and the learning to which these transfers give rise in the context of reception? At the theoretical level, the discussion here draws upon a comparison between the literature devoted to policy transfer studies and work on policy learning and organizational learning. It is also supported by a field study concerning the manner in which, over the course of the1990's and the first decade of this century, local actors in Bulgaria did or did not appropriate exogenous solutions imported by means of various types of transfer in the domain of local economic development policies (DEL). As it happens, the classic forms of international cooperation (top-down, bureaucratic, programmatic) have had less impact in terms of learning than have horizontal modes for diffusing administrative innovations: lessons drawn from the experiences of common neighbors, the creation of regional and national forums dedicated to DEL policies, electoral alliances between traditional political elites and activist movements with links to international expert and professional networks and professionalization dynamics among municipal personnel working in this domain. Adapted from the source document.

This dissertation analyzes the complex interrelationship between two elements: the national decree on the preservation of the natural reserve and the existence of the town of Rio Lagartos (and Las Coloradas). The community's socioeconomic conditions are reviewed taking into account the interviews with the direct actors that enrich the knowledge of the dynamic reality they live. The main productive activity in Rio Lagartos is fishing due to its geographic characterization and to the fact that other primary activities do not have the same productive potential. In Las Coloradas, the work in the salt industry represents the main economic activity that widely displaces fishing as a natural activity.

This article is concerned with movement and terrain and with the ways in which qualitative inquiry might engage with and combine these in local studies of people and places. Movement is at a premium today — no shortage of social and cultural commentators insist on it — and bids fair to provide the social sciences with a new conceptual paradigm. Mobile actors abound and what were once spaces of place are now reckoned spaces of flows; space itself, emancipated from territory, becomes mobile and is deployed as a capacity. Qualitative research, having always allowed its actors to deploy a richer and more fluid world, is well placed to respond — but for one significant snag. The article sets the question: What happens to the qualitative commitment to the local, to grounded research and fieldwork, now that processes of mobility are said to transcend setting and location? Rather than look to ways in which to extend the reach of the qualitative researcher — across space, between places — the article considers how qualitative research, while remaining local, might nonetheless be brought together with movement. Two first-hand empirical examples of local qualitative inquiries directed to movement (as object and method) are used to develop this line of argument. A focus on pedestrian movement in particular aligns the article with widening inter-disciplinary and methodological interest in walking practices.

Why are civil society dynamics concerning green spaces across European cities so interesting for socio-ecological transition? All over Europe self-organized civil society movements are emerging to tackle local challenges, becoming active players in local governance processes. These social experiments have even been intensified as a result of tight public local budgets. Their activities contribute to the functioning and well-being of a European society aiming for sustainability. Preserving the availability of bio-diverse green spaces is crucial for the socio-ecological transition of cities since besides providing recreational opportunities for city dwellers, they yield essential ecological benefits from cleaning the air to reducing noise, but also provide habitat for many species and plants and reduce local vulnerabilities to extreme climate events. In cities in which local governments have severe difficulties in affording the provision of green space, new self-organized initiatives have emerged for maintaining and even developing them. Initiatives such as urban gardening have proven that people are able to cooperate, to organize themselves and to take over responsibility for green spaces as well as even introducing new practices that support the socio-ecological transition. This Milestone will contribute to the questions: -how can citizen groups contribute to maintain existing green spaces which are available and accessible for all and possibly being expanded whilst assuring biodiversity and allowing diverse use for local needs (re-creation, community-based food-production, neighbourhood culture, common intergenerational and intercultural learning etc.) at the same time; -which policy framework allows for a constructive colaboration between local authorities, administration, economic actors and citizens, enabling innovative solutions in the area of urban food production, green-space management and participative urban development.

Current agricultural systems account for approximately 20% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC, 2014). A growing population, depleting key resources (oil and phosphorous1), loss of farm lands and the risk of changing climatic conditions highlight the need for a dramatic change to our global food network. As a response to this globalized, industrial model of agriculture, localized food systems are less fossil fuel intensive due to reduced transport and processing needs, as well as small-scale farming methods (Neff et al., 2011). Local food systems are not only ecologically sustainable, but also socially just, increasing the availability of food, creating livelihoods, and strengthening the relationship between farmers and consumers in the community. Project Objectives: 1. Identify a successful policy environment for small-scale urban food systems to flourish and improve farmer livelihoods 2. Assess the role of non-governmental actors in influencing policy development 3. Learn how small-scale urban farms and related stakeholders develop resilience against climate change and fossil fuel related contingencies This project is completed in partnership with Village Vancouver Transition Society. The goal of this project is to inform further policy development to create a more resilient food system within the Village Vancouver Transition Society's overarching timeline of 2040. This research project identifies local, sustainable food initiatives in Vancouver and evaluates the public policies that enable the initiatives' successful implementation. Through examining policy documents and interviewing local food system actors, current laws, bylaws and strategies governing urban food systems were assessed. Barriers to growth were identified from survey and interview responses, and are broadly categorized into economic, resource, and marketplace barriers (summarized below). Addressing these barriers, increasing awareness and continuing sustainable farming practices will allow small scale farmers to scale up their production and operations to build a more resilient local urban food system. The findings of this research lead to a plethora of recommendations to local food system actors and governmental organizations to develop resilience to climate change and oil scarcity. ; Science, Faculty of ; Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of ; Unreviewed ; Undergraduate

"We witness a constant interaction of global and local forces in the global agrifood system. This paper develops an analytical framework for the identification of the relative impact of these global versus local forces on the sustainability of the agrifood system. In pursuit of its
objectives, the framework highlights material and ideational sources of power as important determinants of how the contest between global and local actors and norms in global agrifood governance plays out. With this framework, the paper provides an integrating function for the panel. In addition, the paper will employ the framework in an empirical investigation of determinants of policies and practices regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in India. GMO policies and practices represent a contested ground where (different) 'local' and 'international' values clash, while at the same time, the discursive power of the biotech industry is highly visible. In consequence, the case of the commercial introduction of GMOs, and specifically the example of 'Golden Rice' in India, presents excellent evidence for the need to
look beyond material sources of power and consider the ideational ones and their interaction with the material dimension, if one wants to understand the complexities of agrifood governance." [author's abstract]

Biodiversity conservation is an important contemporary issue on global, EU and national policy agendas. However, in the face of human economic development, the important question is how to protect, maintain and restore biodiversity, without compromising economic and social dimensions of sustainability. Two sectors that can to a large extent influence biodiversity are forestry and road infrastructure development. Forestry is a sector very important for biodiversity conservation, since a large amount of protected and threatened species resides in forest ecosystems and many natural processes crucial for biodiversity occur in the forest. In addition, forests and woodlands form a network of habitats for many area-demanding species. Due to intensive forest management and fragmentation of forest and woodlands many elements of biodiversity are threatened, including species, habitats and processes. Road infrastructure development is another process that can negatively influence biodiversity. A growing network of transport infrastructure without doubt affects the functionality of the forest habitat networks. Negative effects include traffic mortality due to road collisions and barrier effect for individuals caused by high traffic volume, noise, wide roads and fencing. Cumulative effects of the infrastructure development can also lead to a loss of different elements of biodiversity at the landscape scale. Poland, with a legacy of less intensive forest management and still without a well-developed road infrastructure, is fortunate in terms of biodiversity maintenance. Due to economic underdevelopment of some regions of the country, Poland is rich in natural values including specialized species, functional habitat networks and ecological processes. However, after entering the European Union, Poland has started a process of rapid economic development, mainly with the help of EU funding. Enhancing road infrastructure is presently a key issue of economic development in this country. Dramatic growth in the amount of new roads can have large scale consequences for the biodiversity of the country, and can even influence biodiversity at the European scale. Policies aiming at biodiversity maintenance underline the need for implementing sustainability ideas in the planning and management for biodiversity. Traditionally, economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainability are identified. To be able to balance these three dimensions in the efforts for biodiversity conservation, there is a need to incorporate social dimensions in the nature science research concerning biodiversity. Especially, consideration of local attitudes is necessary in planning for biodiversity conservation. The aim of this thesis is to examine actors' attitudes and underlying values in two situations of conflict related to biodiversity conservation in Poland. One case concerns forest management in a biodiversity hot-spot, Białowieża forest and the other is about a development of a controversial road project of Augustów bypass. The results show that differences in attitudes may have various sources. The knowledge possessed by actors, their values, as well as scale at which they perceived biodiversity issues were identified as the main reasons for different attitudes. It was observed that in general, the actors whose attitudes were more "ecologically oriented" had to a large extent a cognitive view, that is their attitudes were mainly based on cognition (ecological knowledge) while "socially" or "economically oriented" actors' attitudes were more connected to emotions. In addition to differing attitudes, lack of trust was recognized in both cases as a factor escalating the conflict. The results showed also that legal issues are crucial to consider when biodiversity conservation is at stake. The results may have implications for the practical biodiversity conservation, since they show that both learning and legal incentives would be beneficial for the biodiversity conservation in controversial planning cases. This calls for the need for neutral forum for efficient public participation, communication and trust building between the actors and learning about important issues

This thesis proposes a sociohistorical analysis of the event Lille 2004, European Capital of Culture, of its local genesis in the 1980s-1990s until its contemporary repercussions on Lille's cultural policy and on certain professionals involved in its production. It shows that, in addition to the territorial and economic benefits, which are tirelessly claimed if not precisely documented, these major events are accompanied by transformations rather localized on the side of the production of cultural public policies, inviting to go to see their conditions of manufacture and the accompanying processes of politicization. This research is based in particular on a documentary analysis conducted from a varied corpus (first of all, on municipal and national archives entirely unpublished), conducting interviews with different categories of actors involved in the organisation of Lille 2004 and/or in the elaboration of Lille cultural policy, as well as direct observations during the events and openings of a triennial edition of Lille 3000, then in the cultural office of Lille city. In contrast to the performative narrative highlighting the idea of a « turning point » for local public action and territorial development, the thesis first shows that the event proceeds from previous mobilizations of local actors and is part of the extension of cultural actions initiated under the mandate of Pierre Mauroy. The second part of the thesis shows that, far from being limited to a « territorial affair » resulting solely from the investment of elected officials, management representatives, or cultural programmers, who are particularly inclined to stage their capacity for initiative, Lille 2004 is made possible by and negotiated with the State. Finally, it is necessary to comprehend in the third part some « effects », generally ignored, of this reorientation of the cultural policy post Lille 2004. We thus examine the restructuring of the Directorate-General for Culture of Lille city and the pertaining professional reconfigurations, an ...

This thesis examines the multiple and often overlapping encounters between 'global' and 'local' norms, actors, practices, and discourses which take place when norms travel between different socio-political contexts. This is done through a study of how global gender equality norms embedded in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda are promoted in two war to peace transitions: Mali and Rwanda. Since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, the WPS agenda has emerged as a powerful international normative framework and has become a key component of international peacebuilding efforts. Through four papers, the thesis demonstrates how global and local actors engage with WPS norms in multiple, overlapping and sometimes unexpected ways, producing a range of outcomes that shape both the meanings and trajectories of norms. The thesis advances the empirical study of norms by combining a number of analytical approaches and data sources, including unique and comprehensive data on the peace process in Mali generated through extensive fieldwork. It outlines a conceptual framework for studying normative encounters and related processes of contestation, friction, localization and appropriation. These processes are explored in the papers, where I develop existing theories and concepts from the literatures on the 'agency of the governed' and critical peacebuilding. Together, the papers provide important insights concerning the ability of agents to shape the meanings and trajectories of norms through meaning-making practices. These include practices of resistance and refinement at the Malian peace negotiations (Paper 1), frictional interactions in the Malian peace process (Paper 2), discursive practices of re-presentation by local elites in Mali (Paper 3) and policy production by the Government of Rwanda (Paper 4). Further, when agents are involved in these processes, they construct and produce new meanings and realities through their engagement with norms. The thesis shows how actors contribute to increased norm precision through the development of operating principles (Paper 1), how they construct positions and locations from which to claim authority and legitimacy (Papers 2, 3 and 4), as well as new identities (Papers 2 and 3) and subjects to be governed (Papers 3 and 4).

This study deals with employment policy measures and the effects of unemployment at the end of the twentieth century in the Finnish region of Tampere and the German region of Giessen. In doing so it combines elements of the Arbeitslosigkeitsforschung (the investigation of reasons and general effects of unemployment as well as possible solutions for the problem) with elements of the Arbeitslosenforschung (the investigation of who the unemployed are and what the unemployment means for them). For comparison of the social and economic situations in Tampere and Giessen an actor-centred approach was chosen. The focus is on governmental and non-governmental actors in the field of the regional employment policy as well as long-term unemployed people. The outcome of the study indicates similar individual and social effects of unemployment in the research regions. Many parallels were also found concerning the individual strategies of the governmental and non-governmental actors. On the other hand, fundamental differences could be observed with regard to the level of regional networking and the orientation towards the European Union. In both cases, Tampere performed better than Giessen, which contributed to a drastic reduction of the unemployment. The differences and similarities between the research regions are explained by the following three conclusions: first of all, local strategies do not depend exclusively on European or national defaults but also to a large extent on region specific factors (in this case the historical role of the municipalities, the level of corporatism and consensus orientation, the perception of the unemployment and the general economic framework). Secondly, regions have the potential to overcome labour market crises and social exclusion to a certain extent, but only if the conditions are right and if there is the political will to do so. And thirdly, many of the similarities on the individual level are due to the influence of the Capitalist ethic on the meaning and functions of work in both German and Finnish society, while the correspondence of problems on the regional level must be seen in connection with the similar tasks and forms of organisations on behalf of the local governmental actors. ; This study deals with employment policy measures and the effects of unemployment at the end of the twentieth century in the Finnish region of Tampere and the German region of Giessen. In doing so it combines elements of the Arbeitslosigkeitsforschung (the investigation of reasons and general effects of unemployment as well as possible solutions for the problem) with elements of the Arbeitslosenforschung (the investigation of who the unemployed are and what the unemployment means for them). For comparison of the social and economic situations in Tampere and Giessen an actor-centred approach was chosen. The focus is on governmental and non-governmental actors in the field of the regional employment policy as well as long-term unemployed people. The outcome of the study indicates similar individual and social effects of unemployment in the research regions. Many parallels were also found concerning the individual strategies of the governmental and non-governmental actors. On the other hand, fundamental differences could be observed with regard to the level of regional networking and the orientation towards the European Union. In both cases, Tampere performed better than Giessen, which contributed to a drastic reduction of the unemployment. The differences and similarities between the research regions are explained by the following three conclusions: first of all, local strategies do not depend exclusively on European or national defaults but also to a large extent on region specific factors (in this case the historical role of the municipalities, the level of corporatism and consensus orientation, the perception of the unemployment and the general economic framework). Secondly, regions have the potential to overcome labour market crises and social exclusion to a certain extent, but only if the conditions are right and if there is the political will to do so. And thirdly, many of the similarities on the individual level are due to the influence of the Capitalist ethic on the meaning and functions of work in both German and Finnish society, while the correspondence of problems on the regional level must be seen in connection with the similar tasks and forms of organisations on behalf of the local governmental actors.

This article raises the question of the constitution of rural society in postsocialist countries, and explores the possibilities of participatory approaches in rural development and resource management in face of given social conditions in the local context. The unifying scientific "idea" is currently associated with the concept of social capital. The ability to form social capital can be seen as a central prerequisite both for economic development and the protection of resources (that is, for sustainable development). An important element of this concept is the networking of the actors within the region and with external actors. As a result of historical development the network relations in the rural areas of East Germany have a specific structure. What is especially remarkable is the continuing dominant role of the representatives of the big agricultural enterprises in the important local network structures despite the obvious decline in the economic importance of these enterprises. The structures uncovered in the case studies can certainly be taken to reflect the reality of many local contexts. It is argued that, as far as the creation of the beginnings of participation in rural development and resource management are concerned, that if the peculiarities are ignored there is a danger that the existing network structures wills simply be strengthened through participatory development. Therefore, the important contributions of participatory approaches to the solution of concrete problems must be supplemented by the prospect of its social embedding in the context of rural development. At the same time it also became clear in the project that the success of developed attempts at problem solution can only be ensured if the higher political levels are prepared to devolve downwards.

In 2010 Norway introduc ed local management of national parks and other large protected areas . B oards comprised of local politicians are delegated extended powers in the management of the protected areas. This paper examines how this system of local management deals with the conflicting dimensions of local interests versus national obligations and conservation versus use . The study is based on data from surveys to protected area board members and other actors involved, and on case studies in two protected area. Th e main finding is that the boards, accountable to central government bu t comprised by politicians accountable to the local voters, aim to balance local interests and national obligations, and conservation and use. Popular involvement and anchorage is, however, weak, due to lack of mobilization and transparency. Furthermore, f ormal restrictions hindering the boards to deal with local economic development could make the boards less attractive for the local political leadership. ; acceptedVersion

Scholars observe that armed non-state actors (NSAs) often provide social services to reinforce their popular support and legitimacy as guarantors of local order. On the other hand, NSAs usually face funding constraints that make the independent provision of distributive goods difficult. This article argues that armed NSAs employ an alternative, more cost-effective tactic to deliver services. It argues that militant groups can leverage their armed capacity to capture control of and monopolize access to state-sponsored services. As an example, it documents the capture of public electricity infrastructure that took place in post-invasion Baghdad under the Sadrist Movement, an armed group formed shortly after the ouster of the Ba'athist state. Using local-level information about the location of Sadrist offices and remote sensing data, it estimates that Sadrist-affiliated neighborhoods in Baghdad saw an average increase in access to electricity between 2003 and 2006 that was significantly greater than in other areas of the city. The article concludes by addressing threats to inference, showing that these differences are not alternatively explained by demographic differences or changes therein due to ongoing conflict. It also discusses how this NSA strategy might contribute to an equilibrium of low state legitimacy and weak capacity in fragile contexts like that of post-2003 Iraq.

Central-local relations have been of particular interest since the Labour government came to power in 1997. Both academics & practitioners have pointed to tensions within the Labour government's reform agenda -- between a "top-down" & "bottom-up" approach; between a drive for national standards & the encouragement of local learning & innovation; & between strengthening executive leadership & enhancing public participation. It is argued that while Labour's modernization strategy has clear elements of a top-down approach (legislation, inspectorates, white papers, etc) there is also a significant bottom-up dimension (a variety of zones, experiments, & pilots, albeit with different degrees of freedom). This article utilizes a multi-level governance framework of analysis & argues that, while much of the research using such frameworks has hitherto focused on the EU, recent developments in governance at neighborhood, local authority, subregional & regional levels facilitate its application within a nation state. The central thesis is that, while there is extensive interaction between actors at subnational level, this should not be seen as a proxy for policy influence. The local political arena is characterized less by multilevel governance than by multi-level dialogue. Subnational actors participate but they are rarely major players in shaping policy outcomes: the plurality that characterizes subcentral governance does not reflect a pluralist power structure. 2 Tables, 54 References. Adapted from the source document.

This is an original manuscript / preprint of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Local Government Studies on 10 Jan 2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/ https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2018.1560270 . ; This article investigates reputation reform in Norwegian and Danish local government and whether they have the same strategy content depending on the degree of administrative involvement and municipality size. Political and administrative actors are likely to cultivate different types of reputation strategies (place or organisational reputation), which explicitly embrace the potentially diverging interests cultivated by the two types of actors. We use a comparative design and quantitative method with an empirical ambition to explore local government reputation strategies in two national contexts. We find that local government responses to reputation reform depend on the size of the municipality and the type of actors involved; the larger the municipality, the more the administration is involved. And the more that administrative actors are involved, the more the strategies target organisational reputation. The country-specific factors do not appear to be the most important determinants for reputation reform strategies.