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Based on a review of experiences in Lyons, Stuttgart and London, this article reflects upon the implications of metropolitanisation for democracy. It examines the institutional set-up of metropolitan authorities, the election procedures of representatives as well as dynamics of decision-making within them. In spite of contrasted institutional settings, political logics and territorial interest representation are present in policy-making at the metropolitan level to a strikingly similar extent. This results in power-sharing strategies among the major political forces and a move away from majoritarian towards more consensual patterns of decision-making. Adapted from the source document.

A growing majority of the world's citizens lives in metropolitan areas. The question of how these areas can be governed has been the subject of a long-running scientific and political debate. This introductory article retraces the main arguments in this debate and argues that it has gained a new scope. Metropolitan governance is no longer a question of local interest limited to single metropolitan areas, but increasingly relates to changes and developments in the organisation of the wider state apparatus. Adapted from the source document.

This article analyses metropolitan governance arrangements in contemporary Sydney. Debate about the efficacy of these arrangements typically degenerates into an argument about the pros and cons of institutional consolidation. The article moves beyond this dispute, drawing on the concept of 'actor-centred institutionalism' to argue that Sydney's urban sprawl, combined with its rigid institutional setting, has produced what can be described as a 'joint decision system' of governance. Effective metropolitan governance in Sydney mainly depends on the ability to reach negotiated agreements within this system. However, a rising level of conflict between the New South Wales State government and local councils located within metropolitan Sydney increases the likeliness of undesirable blockades within the joint decision system. The article concludes that a cautious exercise of new overriding powers by the State government is crucial to promoting more effective metropolitan governance in Sydney. Adapted from the source document.

Over the last two decades, Swiss drug policy has moved away from a prohibitionist to a "harm reduction" model. This article uses the advocacy coalition framework (ACF) to understand this process of policy change, drawing on social movement theory to overcome shortcomings of the ACF regarding collective action. We argue that recent history in the field of drug policy in Switzerland can plausibly be presented as a competition between coalitions advocating belief systems regarding problems & policy. The AIDS epidemic is considered a crucial noncognitive event helping the harm reduction coalition to overthrow the hegemonic abstinence coalition. Public order issues linked to harm reduction facilities led neighborhood quality of life advocates to impede the location of such facilities, which, in turn, stimulated policy-oriented learning with harm reduction advocates. The analysis supports the ACF's hypotheses on policy change, but social movement theory provides insights into coalition formation, persistence, & strategies. 1 Table, 16 References. Adapted from the source document.

Focusing on area-wide policy coordination in metropolitan areas, this article examines the democratic consequences of the supposed shift 'from government to governance'. In the first, theoretical, part it draws upon the debate on old and new routes towards regionalism in order to identify four different types of metropolitan governance. It then develops two working hypotheses - an optimistic and a pessimistic one - in order to analyse the implications of various types of metropolitan governance on inclusiveness, modes of decision making and democratic accountability. In the second part, these hypotheses are tested on the basis of comparative case studies on twenty schemes of area-wide policy coordination in five Swiss metropolitan areas in the fields of water supply, public transport, social services for drug users and cultural amenities. The results suggest that 'governance' is superior to 'government' in terms of inclusiveness, that it cannot be seen as significantly linked to the fostering of deliberative decision making, and that it can present serious flaws in terms of accountability. It is noted, however, that a shift 'from government to governance' does not intrinsically imply democratic drawbacks. Contextual factors play a strong conditioning role. Adapted from the source document.

Throughout the 1990s, hierarchical administrative governance structures have been replaced by self-governing networks for various motives, one of which is to improve the authenticity & democratic quality of public decisions. Thus, "new governance" has been praised for its propensity to provide a plurality of civil society organizations with access to the decision process. This article explores these claims based on the case of drug policy in Swiss cities. We show that self-governing networks indeed seem to have increased the involvement of civil society organizations in the policy process. However, we also find evidence that self-governing networks may in the longer run induce state control over civil society organizations, thus ultimately reducing associative pluralism. They do so either by imposing a policy paradigm or by excluding actors who do not comply with the dominant paradigm from the networks. We conclude by arguing that self-organizing networks should not be dismissed, given that former hierarchical bureaucratic approaches to drug-related problems have failed even worse. Rather, their long-term effects should be subject to further examination aimed at developing adequate responses to their shortcomings. 2 Tables, 47 References. Adapted from the source document.

There are two problematic issues with respect to current initiatives in Switzerland: the lack of reflection on citizen participation, & the absence of debate on genuine political projects for metropolitan societies. Two problematic issues transcend current initiatives of metropolitan governance in Switzerland: (1) a lack of discussion on the architecture of metropolitan democracy, & (2) the fact that current initiatives for improving governance in Swiss agglomerations seem to have a somewhat managerial focus. E. Sanchez

Drawing on the concept of representative bureaucracy, this article examines how two multi-lingual states-Canada and Switzerland-deal with issues related to the participation of different linguistic communities in the federal public service. Following a political mobilisation of the linguistic cleavage, strategies to promote multilingualism in the public service have been adopted in both countries. The Canadian strategy focuses on equal treatment of Anglophones and Francophones in the public service. In Switzerland, adequate representation of the linguistic communities is the primary goal. These differences are explained by the characteristics of the linguistic regimes in each of the two countries, as well as by the peculiarities of consociational democracy in Switzerland. In both countries, the linguistic origins of public administration staff, overall, mirrors the proportions of the linguistic communities in the wider society. Within administrative units, however, linguistic diversity is hampered by the logics of language rationality, where minorities are under pressure to communicate in the language of the majority. Adapted from the source document.

Public action increasingly takes place in self-organizing networks that are remote from direct governmental control. While these transformations have been subject to scrutiny in regard to their efficiency, less attention has been paid to their democratic quality. This article discusses governance-induced problems of democracy by isolating two major criticisms. Deliberative criticism argues that governance, rather than allowing for true deliberation in the public space, may lead to a loss of accountability. Participatory criticism stresses that governance impinges on participatory venues. The article discusses these criticisms theoretically & empirically, drawing from research on drug policy in Switzerland. The findings show that the criticisms are relevant, albeit not entirely justified. 3 Tables, 68 References. Adapted from the source document.

Using data from a survey conducted in spring 2001 in Switzerland, & based on the premise that institutions are an important component for citizen & community identity, this article examines two issues related to the subject of institutional reform in urban agglomerations. A status quo-oriented perspective focuses on identities & community feeling of citizens living in functional urban spaces. It is shown that existing territorial institutions play only a minor part in local identification, & that new political identities & community ties have emerged as a result of functional dynamics of spatial integration that are at work in Swiss agglomerations. A prospective perspective is used to examine citizens' perceptions of agglomeration problems & attitudes toward eventual reforms. The authors argue that, although individual-level variables have a certain importance, significant contrasts between the four agglomerations in terms of problem perception & attitudes toward reform can be observed. Institutional reform in agglomerations has to be understood as the process of self-constitution of a political community. 5 Tables, 12 References. E. Sanchez