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For many years, advocates of a Scottish Parliament hoped that its eventual arrival would mark a new phase in local government: an increase in local autonomy and a redressing of the creeping centralization of the Conservative years. This article addresses the question: to what extent, if any, has there been a shift in the balance of power between centre and local government since the advent of a Scottish Parliament in 1999? It examines the pre- and post-1999 periods in this area of Scottish governance, focusing particularly on the legal/constitutional, financial and policy parameters set by the centre. It argues that continuity has been more important than change, and that reasons for the continued domination of the centre lie particularly with (a) the pervasive influence of the UK Union (b) a relative continuity in political actors and (c) the ongoing self-interest of the 'centre'.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of Figures and Tables -- Preface to the 1981 Publication -- Preface and Acknowledgements -- PART I: CONTROL AND POWER IN CENTRAL-LOCAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS -- 1 Introduction -- The context of intergovernmental relations: some theoretical issues -- Summary of Part I -- 2 Some Myths in Central-Local Relations -- The 'conventional wisdom' -- The 'conventional critique' -- The 'conventional critique' revisited -- Some recent developments -- The 'forgotten dimensions' of central-local relations -- Conclusions: the rationality of ambiguous confusion? -- 3 Interorganizational Analysis -- Introduction -- The nature of the environment -- The unit of analysis -- Organizational goals -- Power and exchange -- Consequences -- Conclusions -- 4 Intergovernmental Relations -- Introduction -- From federalism to intergovernmental relations -- Bargaining, diplomacy and 'topocrats' -- Conclusions -- 5 A Framework for Analysis -- Introduction -- Figure: the analysis of interactions -- Ground: the distribution of power, rules, interests and values -- Concluding discussion: the rationality of ambiguous confusion -- PART II: FROM INSTITUTIONS, TO POLICY, TO INDIVIDUALS -- 6 'Power-Dependence' Theories of Central-Local Relations: a Critical Assessment -- Introduction -- A critical appraisal -- Towards a theoretical reconstruction -- Conclusions: what has been achieved? -- 7 New Directions in the Study of Policy Networks -- Introduction -- A typology of policy networks -- Key issues -- Conclusions: new directions -- 8 Analysing Networks: from Typologies of Institutions to Narratives of Beliefs -- Introduction -- Developments in the study of policy networks -- Deconstructing networks -- Reconstructing networks -- Conclusions -- References -- Subject Index -- Also by R.A.W. Rhodes

"Der schwedische Wohlfahrtsstaat, der lange in Hinblick auf die Verbindung von Demokratie, Effizienz und Gleichheit als vorbildlich galt, ist seit Beginn der 90er Jahre mit einer Vielzahl von neuen Problemen konfrontiert: dem Rückgang der industriellen Produktion, dem Anstieg der Arbeitslosenrate, einem massiven Budgetdefizit, sozialer und regionaler Ungleichheit und zunehmender Politikverdrossenheit der Bürger und Bürgerinnen. Da auch Schweden auf globale wirtschaftliche Veränderungen reagierte und da die meisten Wohlfahrtsaufgaben lokal verankert sind, überrascht es nicht, daß substantielle Umstrukturierungen im Verhältnis zwischen staatlicher und lokaler Regierung stattgefunden haben. Die zentrale und die lokale Politik geht zunehmend in Richtung Reregulierung und Sparmaßnahmen, wie auch in Richtung Dezentralisierung und Deregulierung, Entpolitisierung, Privatisierung, Reaktivierung des ehrenamtlichen Sektors und Europäisierung sind weitere Schlagworte, die die lokale Politik charakterisieren. Diese Tendenzen finden ihren Ausdruck auch darin, daß sogar die Grundlagen der traditionellen regionalen Verwaltung in Frage gestellt werden. So wurde von der Zentralregierung eine Regionalreform eingeleitet, und ein Regionalismus von unten nach oben entwickelte sich in verschiedenen Formen. Dieser Artikel gibt einen Überblick über die Formen, Mechanismen und Gründe der Veränderungen in der Regierung auf zentraler, regionaler und lokaler Ebene und endet mit der Betrachtung einiger aktueller Felder von Stadtpolitik." (Autorenreferat)

Der schwedische Wohlfahrtsstaat, der lange in Hinblick auf die Verbindung von Demokratie, Effizienz und Gleichheit als vorbildlich galt, ist seit Beginn der 90er Jahre mit einer Vielzahl von neuen Problemen konfrontiert: dem Rückgang der industriellen Produktion, dem Anstieg der Arbeitslosenrate, einem massiven Budgetdefizit, sozialer und regionaler Ungleichheit und zunehmender Politikverdrossenheit der Bürger und Bürgerinnen. Da auch Schweden auf globale wirtschaftliche Veränderungen reagiert und da die meisten Wohlfahrtsaufgaben lokal verankert sind, überrascht es nicht, daß substantielle Umstrukturierungen im Verhältnis zwischen staatlicher und lokaler Regierung stattgefunden haben. Die zentrale und lokale Politik geht zunehmend in Richtung Reregulierung und Sparmaßnahmen, wie auch in Richtung Dezentralisierung und Deregulierung, Entpolitisierung, Privatisierung, Reaktivierung des ehrenamtlichen Sektors und Europäisierung sind weitere Schlagworte, die die lokale Politik charakterisieren. Diese Tendenzen finden ihren Ausdruck auch darin, daß sogar die Grundlagen der traditionellen regionalen Verwaltung in Frage gestellt werden. So wurde von der Zentralregierung eine Regionalreform eingeleitet, und ein Regionalismus von unten nach oben entwickelte sich in verschiedenen Formen. Dieser Artikel gibt einen Überblick über die Formen, Mechanismen und Gründe der Veränderungen in der Regierung auf zentraler, regionaler und lokaler Ebene und endet mit der Betrachtung einiger aktueller Felder von Stadtpolitik. (Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft / FUB)

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.

As prefectoral systems are generally regarded to be systems that underpin and serve as the basis for centralization, this article examines how they have developed and how they work, and why they are still considered necessary in decentralized Scandinavia. The article finds that the prefect's authority towards the municipalities varies in Scandinavia. The Norwegian and Swedish prefectures hold rather powerful roles, while the Danish ones do not. The article suggests that this may have something to do with the need for an institution that brings about cohesion and coordination. Prefectoral systems are basically pragmatic solutions to the problem of enforcing national standards and common values across regions and municipalities, but their role may vary with institutional conditions created by local government reforms. The article further suggests that the authority of the prefecture varies with the character of central-local relations, and that it is vulnerable to changes in dominant political goals and values. en. References. Adapted from the source document.

Central-local relations have been of particular interest since the Labour government came to power in 1997. Both academics and practitioners have pointed to tensions within the Labour government's reform agenda—between a 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approach; between a drive for national standards and the encouragement of local learning and innovation; and between strengthening executive leadership and enhancing public participation. It is argued that while Labour's modernisation 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 and pilots, albeit with different degrees of freedom). This article utilises a multi-level governance framework of analysis and argues that, while much of the research using such frameworks has hitherto focused on the EU, recent developments in governance at neighbourhood, local authority, sub-regional and regional levels facilitate its application within a nation state. The central thesis is that, while there is extensive interaction between actors at sub-national level, this should not be seen as a proxy for policy influence. The local political arena is characterised less by multi-level governance than by multi-level dialogue. Sub-national actors participate but they are rarely major players in shaping policy outcomes: the plurality which characterises sub-central governance does not reflect a pluralist power structure.

Focuses on municipalities. Argues that recent decentralization serves to increase central state control over local government expenditure.

Concludes that given the amount of discretion that local government is allowed, and its firm integration into the 'Swedish model' of state welfare provision, current reforms can have only marginal effects. (SJK)

Divergent conclusions have been drawn from research about whether or not local government in Sweden has become more independent of central government during the post-war expansion of the Swedish welfare state. By using a multi-dimensional resource perspective it is argued that local government could be viewed as potentially strong with regard to constitutional–legal, political, financial and professional resources. However, during the 1980s as several decentralist and deregulative programs were being implemented, central government strengthened its financial control over local government. An increasing interdependency between local government agencies and private institutions could also be observed. Thus, the current relations between central and local government in Sweden can be summarised in the formula: centralising (financial) power — decentralising responsibility.