Multi-level governance in a ‘Europe with the regions’
| Author | Arjan H Schakel |
| DOI | 10.1177/1369148120937982 |
| Published date | 01 November 2020 |
| Date | 01 November 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Breakthrough Political Science Symposium on Multi-Level Governance |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148120937982
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2020, Vol. 22(4) 767 –775
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1369148120937982
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Multi-level governance in a
‘Europe with the regions’
Arjan H Schakel
Abstract
The concept of multilevel governance was introduced to reveal the impact of regions on European
Union (EU) policy making in Brussels. In this contribution, I show that multilevel governance also
exposes regional involvement in EU affairs within the member states. In contrast to perspectives
that focus on formal decision-making by central governments, multilevel governance uncovers
significant sharing of authority between governmental actors within and beyond national states
even in cases where the formal right to make a decision lies with national governments or the EU
legislator. I argue that the concept of multilevel governance is key for understanding developments
within a three-tiered EU polity because it directs scholarly attention to the incentives for regions
to be involved in EU affairs and for national governments and EU institutions to share their
authority with regions.
Keywords
European Union, multi-level governance, regional governance, regional government, regional
representation, regions
Introduction
The concept of multilevel governance (MLG) can be traced back to the seminal work of
Liesbet Hooghe (1995, 1996) and Gary Marks (1992, 1993) of the 1990s. During this
time, regions started to become prominently present and active in Brussels because of a
revision of Cohesion Policy in 1988 which required national governments to co-develop
plans to implement the funds with subnational governments. Furthermore, the Maastricht
Treaty of 1992 granted regions access to the Council of Ministers and established the
Committee of the Regions (CoR) which has to be consulted by the European Union (EU)
legislator on key areas of regional concern. Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks’ (2001)
landmark study Multi-Level Governance and European Integration clearly revealed that
a new conceptual tool had to be developed to account for the presence of regions in
Brussels and the impact they made on EU policy. Theories of European integration which
were in fashion at the time – that is, neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism – could
Department of Comparative Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Corresponding author:
Arjan H Schakel, Department of Comparative Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Bergen,
PO Box 7802, 5020 Bergen, Norway.
Email: arjan.schakel@uib.no
937982BPI0010.1177/1369148120937982The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsSchakel
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