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Urban governance in general and partnerships in particular are commonly legitimised as being more efficient than traditional forms of government, whereas their relationship to democracy is only mentioned in passing or even neglected. In most of the literature a number of efficiency–related arguments in favour of the partnership approach are presented, although its alleged capacity to create synergetic effects for the partners normally ranks number one. Of course it is an empirical question, whether a partnership is efficient or not, but the point is that the efficiency rhetoric is strong enough to legitimise the creation of partnerships anyhow. Partnerships are more or less ascribed the function to solve any governance problem. Taking its point of departure in a theoretical discussion of partnerships and their role in urban governance, and using illustrations taken from recent empirical studies, the main aim of the paper is to develop a research strategy for cross–national/cross–country research on partnerships and urban governance. The paper concludes by discussing some policy implications of the growing role of partnerships in urban governance, high–lighting their so–far neglected relationship to democracy.

Résumé Il est courant de légitimer la gouvernance urbaine, en général, et les partenariats, en particulier, en faisant valoir leur efficacité au regard des formes traditionnelles de gestion publique, tout en glissant, voire en faisant l'impasse, sur leur lien avec la démocratie. La plupart des ouvrages invoquent en effet l'efficacité pour appuyer l'approche partenariale, alors que la capacité qu'on lui prête de créer une synergie entre les partenaires arrive normalement en tête de liste. Définir si un partenaire est efficace ou non relève, bien sûr, de l'empirisme mais il est vrai que la rhétorique de l'efficacité est assez puissante pour justifier, de toutes façons, la création de partenariats. On leur assigne plus ou moins la fonction de résoudre n'importe quel problème de gouvernance. Partant du débat théorique sur les partenariats et leur rôle dans la gouvernance urbaine et se fondant sur des exemples provenant d'études empiriques récentes, le présent article a pour principal objet d'élaborer une stratégie destinée à conduire des recherches internationales comparatives sur les partenariats et la gouvernance urbaine. Il s'achève par l'évocation d'incidences politiques découlant du rôle croissant des partenariats dans la gouvernance urbaine, et la mise en lumière de leur lien avec la démocratie, lequel était jusqu'ici négligé.

Urban governance in general & partnerships in particular are commonly legitimized as being more efficient than traditional forms of government, whereas their relationship to democracy is only mentioned in passing or even neglected. In most of the literature, a number of efficiency-related arguments in favor of the partnership approach are presented, although its alleged capacity to create synergetic effects for the partners normally ranks number one. Of course it is an empirical question, whether a partnership is efficient or not, but the point is that the efficiency rhetoric is strong enough to legitimize the creation of partnerships anyhow. Partnerships are more or less ascribed the function to solve any governance problem. Taking its point of departure in a theoretical discussion of partnerships & their role in urban governance, & using illustrations taken from recent empirical studies, the main aim of the paper is to develop a research strategy for crossnational/crosscountry research on partnerships & urban governance. The paper concludes by discussing some policy implications of the growing role of partnerships in urban governance, highlighting their so far neglected relationship to democracy. 32 References. Adapted from the source document.

The ideological profile of the Green Party in Sweden & its political position in Swedish government is discussed. In 1998, the Green Party gained 4.5% of the Swedish vote. Its ideology contains four solidarities, with nature & the global ecology, future generations, all people in need, & the indigenous citizens of Sweden. The Greens have traditionally opposed economic growth as generally detrimental to ecological sustainability, but now they support a green welfare economy in a red-green coalition with the Social Democrats & the Left Party. The Green Party is optimistic that economic growth can take place in ecologically sustainable terms, & its ideology is moving toward an ecological modernization approach. However, the Swedish Green Party differs from its counterparts elsewhere in Europe by opposing Swedish membership in the European Union (EU), primarily because the EU's military force is incompatible with Sweden's principle of neutrality. Their impact on Swedish participation in the EU in the future is uncertain. 6 References. M. Pflum

Restructuring of central and local government relations has occurred in a number of countries during the 1980s, and has been a striking phenomenon even in such different countries as Poland, Sweden and the US. In the first part of the article a resource framework is presented, designed to make basic comparisons of these relations between different countries. Five sets of resources are identified: constitutional‐legal, regulatory, financial, political and professional resources. It is argued that local‐government disposal of such resources provides a potential for local discretion. The applicability of the framework is illustrated by reference to a study of Poland, Sweden and the US, focusing on the restructuring of central and local government relations in these countries during the 1980s. The conclusion is that decentralization has occurred in all three cases, especially in terms of regulatory and other non‐financial resources. However, in Sweden and the US this trend has been counterbalanced by centralization of financial control. In Poland the post‐communist revolution has paved the way for a restoration of the pre‐war local self‐government system. Democratic elections at the local level are seen as crucial to break down the old, centralized party‐state system, and to reintroduce a dual local government system. In all three cases economic pressure, related to the individual countries' positions in the world capitalist system, seems to have been the main driving force beind the decentralization processes. However, the forms, magnitude and effects of decentralization must be seen in relation to the specific political economies and histories of the three countries. Thus, to understand the causes, mechanisms and effects of central–local government restructuring in depth one has to relate the resource approach to a broader theoretical framework.

This book looks at the consequences and implications of an emerging new way of local politics in Europe. With the term »governance«, changes in the political and social constitution of cities are analysed. Based on theoretical and empirical studies by scholars from ten countries, different aspects of »urban governance« will be presented.

HauptbeschreibungThis book looks at the consequences and implications of an emerging new way of local politics in Europe. With the term »governance«, changes in the political and social constitution of cities are analysed. Based on theoretical and empirical studies by scholars from ten countries, different aspects of »urban governance« will be presented