The emerging labour market and transformation from state amateurs to professional athletes

Corporate governance and its associated concerns had no bearing on Chinese industry management before its national economic reform in the early 1980s. The government's intention has been to make all state-owned enterprises more effective and efficient than they previously were by gradually introducing Western enterprise methods with a capitalist market approach. The article explores the notion of corporate governance in the context of Chinese football by studying the emerging labour markets and management of professional football players to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issues concerning the governance of Chinese sports and its human resource management. It seeks to contribute to the development of stakeholder theory as an important analytical framework on Chinese management studies in the field of professional sport during its economic transition.     

Integration,functional differentiation and problem‐solving in multilevel governance

The European Union (EU) is currently facing unprecedented challenges to its problem‐solving capacity, such as those represented by pressing transnational crises and by bottom‐up criticisms towards the European integration process. Moreover, the EU is said to compensate its weak input legitimacy with an enhanced problem‐solving capacity. However, the notion of problem‐solving itself has remained remarkably vague in the multilevel governance (MLG) literature. This symposium analyses problem‐solving in different MLG settings. In this introduction, we identify procedural and operational notions of problem‐solving in MLG, and present a structural framework to guide the comparative analyses of multilevel systems along the dimensions of political integration, functional differentiation and decentralization. The contributions to the symposium illustrate how structural elements of different multilevel systems shape both the policy‐making process and the politics of problem‐solving within these systems. In doing so, they pave the way for further comparative research.     

The EU ‘partnership principle’: still a sustainable governance device across multiple administrative arenas?

This article analyses the 'partnership principle'– which is of particular importance for multilevel governance interpretations of European integration – as it evolved in EU regional policy–making. After sketching in the crucial analytical lines of the current debate on 'partnership' on the example of the implementation of the EU structural policy in Germany, I examine how it functions. A closer look at two important sub–fields of 'partnership'–'societal participation' and 'policy evaluation'– reveals that theoretical expectations regarding its transforming potential, in terms of pitting supranational and subnational actors against central state authority and thereby circumventing the latter, have not materialized. On the contrary, recently rising resentment and out–and–out conflict between the European Commission and regional authorities so far point to theoretically unexpected limitations of 'partnership', calling into question whether it is an appropriate and sustainable inter–administrative co–ordination device – at least when viewed from the perspective of the EU multilevel governance thesis. In the light of the reported insights into the practice of 'partnership', this 'new mode of EU governance' thus needs to be reassessed.     

GOVERNING INFORMATION: A THREE DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

This article examines the institutional, political and regulatory dimensions of environmental assessment (EA) processes. While EA is most often conceptualized as a regulatory instrument, this article contends that viewing EA in this narrow fashion obscures the broader implications and significance of EA as a distinct form of governance. When conceived as a mode of governance, EA varies considerably in terms of the key governance characteristics emphasized in this symposium. The empirical evidence rests upon three cases studies looking at very different multi‐level governance contexts: the Tamar Valley Pulp Mill in Australia, the Whites Point Quarry in Canada, and the Byströe Canal Project in the Ukraine. The case study analysis identifies large variations in the institutional, political and regulatory form that EAs take, indicating that approaches identifying EA as a form of ‘New Governance’ are overly simplistic. The analysis also points to the multi‐directional influence of different governance dimensions. The insights derived from the use of the three dimensional framework validate its value as an analytical tool.     

Neighbourhood Governance: Contested Rationales within a Multi-Level Setting – A Study of Manchester

‘Neighbourhood’ is a long standing concept in local governance which was re-energised as part of the post-1997 New Labour policy paradigm. This paper builds on the work of Lowndes and Sullivan which identified four distinct rationales for neighbourhood working – civic, social, political and economic. The utility of the framework is explored through primary research in Manchester, UK. The research shows that different rationales are held by actors at different locations within the complex system of multi-level governance within which neighbourhood policy is made and implemented. Neighbourhood approaches to urban regeneration exist within a congested governance environment. In Manchester, regeneration has been strongly driven by the self-styled ‘Team Manchester’ who have provided an urban entrepreneurial vision for change in the city. Significantly, however, interventions at the neighbourhood level have shown potential for creating opportunities for citizen and community dissent and empowerment not subsumed with the narrative of the entrepreneurial city. Lowndes and Sullivan's framework provides important analytical building blocks and illuminating tools for understanding neighbourhood approaches. This research points to the merit of a dynamic approach recognising competing perspectives and contested agendas.     

Multilevel governance and problem‐solving: Towards a dynamic theory of multilevel policy‐making?

In this article, we suggest that the governance of problems shapes the institutional dynamics of multilevel governance (MLG) polities. MLG arrangements—processes and institutions that enable policy‐making across different jurisdictional levels wherein both public authorities and non‐state actors are involved—can or cannot succeed in solving policy problems and at the same time they could create new problems. We argue that the problem‐solving capacity and problem‐generating potential of multilevel arrangements can result in further, downwards, upwards or sideways delegation of political authority, which in turn reconfigure the multilevel architecture of the political system following either centripetal or centrifugal tendencies. We illustrate our point with a stylized account of the dynamics of MLG in the European Union (EU) since the early 1990s. We conclude with some remarks about developing a more general theory of multilevel policy‐making.     

Governance in Whitehall

Governance theory raises conceptual and theoretical questions about the coordination of complex social systems and the evolving role of the state within that process. A central aspect of the governance debate focuses on the ability of national governments to address salient social issues. This article examines the British Labour governments' attempts to facilitate cross-departmental inter-organizational collaboration within Whitehall in an attempt to develop innovative responses to seemingly intractable social problems. The government's desire and strategy to increase its capacity to orchestrate 'joined-up' government can be interpreted as both an acceptance and a response to the challenges of modern governance. The article locates the structural, procedural and cultural responses to this challenge within the theoretical and analytical framework of governance theory. It concludes by suggesting that meaningful change in the way public policy is designed and implemented may well demand a more deep seated reappraisal of the structure of Whitehall and the dominant values of the British political elite than is currently anticipated.     

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND POLITICAL RATIONALITIES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE IN THE NETHERLANDS

Multi‐level governance, network governance, and, more recently, experimentalist governance are important analytical frameworks through which to understand democratic governance in the EU. However, these analytical frameworks carry normative assumptions that build on functionalist roots and undervalue political dynamics. This can result in a lack of understanding of the challenges that democratic governance faces in practice. This article proposes the analysis of democratic governance from the perspective of multiple political rationalities to correct such assumptions. It analyses the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands as a paradigmatic case study by showing how governmental, instrumental, and deliberative rationalities are at work in each of the governance elements that it introduces. The article concludes by discussing the implications of a perspective of multiple political rationalities for the understanding and promotion of democratic governance in practice.     

Conceptualizing the Tools of Government in Urban Network Governance

The alleged increase in new governance arrangements is often understood as a challenge, since public leaders are considered to be less able to influence and govern when government is only one out of several stakeholders. Some scholars argue that steering in such settings is fundamentally different from steering in a hierarchical context. This article aims to assess how a classic and generic analytical framework to tools of government, the NATO-scheme developed by Christopher Hood, fits in a setting where local governments attempt to influence networks. Based on in-depth studies of nine urban networks in Norway, we have assessed the toolbox and the use of different tools. The article demonstrates that the suggested generic framework makes sense in a network context. Thus, to bridge the classic literature on policy instruments and the growing discourse on meta-governance would probably be beneficial.     

MANAGING EUROPE FROM AN IRISH PERSPECTIVE: CRITICAL JUNCTURES AND THE INCREASING FORMALIZATION OF THE CORE EXECUTIVE IN IRELAND

This article analyses the management of European Union (EU) business by the Irish core executive. More specifically, it investigates the demands placed by EU membership on the Irish system of public administration and how the system has responded to these demands. Employing an institutionalist analytical framework, the article maps the formal and informal organizational and procedural devices or structures used to manage EU affairs in Ireland, as well as dissecting the key relationships that govern this management process and the role of the domestic agents actively involved in the EU’s governance structure, the cadre or boundary managers. The article also explores in a dynamic way the development of the capacity for the management of EU affairs in Ireland over time. Using the concepts of path dependence and critical junctures, we illuminate how key system‐management decisions became locked‐in over time and we isolate the triggers for significant adaptational change, be they domestic or external. Adaptation to EU business in Ireland was path‐dependent and consisted of gradual incremental adjustment. This system of flexible adaptation generally served Ireland well as the EU’s policy regime expanded and evolved, but in response to the shock rejection of the Nice Treaty by the electorate in 2001, significant formalization of the Irish system occurred with the establishment of new processes and rules for managing relations between the core executive and the EU.     

Community Participation in Local Governance – An Empirical Analysis of Urbanized Local Governments in the Philippines and Uganda

This article addresses community participation in local government, a controversial issue in the era of governance. Under the context of decentralisation reform in particular, active participation of the community in local governance has been expected, where as a range of critical arguments has been made on its concepts, ideas and feasibilities. Despite the significance of the issue, practices of community participation at the local level are academically under-examined, even in developed countries, let alone in developing countries. Given such situations, empirical observations from local governments of the Philippines and Uganda are introduced and comparatively analysed with in a specific analytical framework of participation. By doing so, the artide leads us to some keys to success for community participation schemes in the development context, which include the local leadership, functions of the central government and enhancing awareness of values of community participation both in the public and the local government.     

Conclusion: European Governance in a Changing World: Interests,Institutions, and Policy-Making

ABSTRACT

This article concludes the special issue by outlining the author’s perspective on 40 years of research on interests, institutions, and policy-making in sub-national, national, and supranational settings. The first part of the article five general comments is developed on 1. the relationship between politics and policies, 2. vertical widening in terms of multilevel European policy-making; 3. horizontal widening with regard to New Modes of Governance; 4. democratic legitimation in multilevel governance; and 5. methodological considerations. The second part of the article substantiates the five comments and relates them to the other articles in the special issue. The overall picture which emerges is that European governance has expanded and transformed significantly over time which has led to a complex system in need for democratic accountability and legitimacy.     

Local governance and learning: in search of a conceptual framework

This article proposes a conceptual framework explaining the phenomenon of local governance learning. The framework is grounded in organisational learning, institutional theory and in a case study of local governance practices undertaken in the process of public dispute resolution. Our analysis offers an advancement in the knowledge on governance learning by (1) specifying different types of governance learning, which are linked to the structure of learning not to its motivation, (2) linking the micro level of local governance practices with the mezzo level of organisational structures, and with the institutions regulating governance on the macro level and (3) explicating the difference between learning and institutional change. We introduce the category of astonishment, which we treat as a prerequisite of governance learning. It is defined as a cognitive state caused by a disruption of institutionalised patterns of thinking and behaviour deployed by a (public) organisation to deal with a specific (social) problem.     

NEW GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOREST POLICY: INSTITUTIONAL,POLITICAL AND REGULATORY DIMENSIONS

This article investigates emerging governance arrangements at the intersection between forest management and climate policy. The authors deploy the symposium's three‐dimensional framework to describe and evaluate developments within two distinct policy sectors (forestry/climate change adaptation and mitigation) at several levels of governance (bi‐national, national, and sub‐national) to explore the nature and operation of the emerging governance arrangements, and assessing and measuring change within these arrangements over time. Drawing on four contemporary case studies from the US and Canada, New Zealand, British Columbia and Alaska, the authors discern little evidence of a generalized, linear trend from ‘government to governance’. Instead, they conclude, across institutional, political and regulatory dimensions of governance, a more variegated and diverse picture emerges. Their analysis also lends support for the Trubek and Trubek (2007) hypothesis that emerging governance arrangements typically interact with extant ones through modalities of rivalry, complementarity and transformation.     

Urban Regeneration Policy from the Integrated Urban Development Model in the European Union: an Analytical Approach Based on the Study of Spanish Cities

For several years, local governments have been tackling new challenges related to the regeneration of their cities within the physical sphere, as well as in their economic and social aspects. This task is developed in accordance with what has been called the Integrated Urban Development Model, understanding the integrated nature of this approach not only in terms of the spheres of public policy involved, but also in relation to their management. In this paper, this management is analysed in terms of the development of mechanisms for New Local Governance and New Public Management (NPM). Using Spanish municipalities as a case study, this paper develops an analytical tool for the analysis of this model of urban intervention within the European context, paying close attention to the development of mechanisms for New Local Governance from a multilevel perspective, as well as the development of mechanisms for NPM.     

Public administration,public leadership and the construction of public value in the age of the algorithm and ‘big data’

Public administration scholarship has to a significant degree neglected technological change. The age of the algorithm and ‘big data’ is throwing up new challenges for public leadership, which are already being confronted by public leaders in different jurisdictions. Algorithms may be perceived as presenting new kinds of ‘wicked problems’ for public authorities. The article offers a tentative overview of the kind of algorithmic challenges facing public leaders in an environment where the discursive context is shaped by corporate technology companies. Public value theory is assessed as an analytical framework to examine how public leaders are seeking to address the ethical and public value issues affecting governance and regulation, drawing on recent UK experience in particular. The article suggests that this is a fruitful area for future research.     

DECENTRING POLICY NETWORKS: A THEORETICAL AGENDA

This introduction starts by specifying the theoretical and analytical framework underpinning the range of essays in this special issue. It then provides an overview of the existing literature on policy networks and network governance in order to identify what a decentred approach might contribute. What follows is an account of decentred theory, a discussion of the potential alternatives it can offer to existing accounts and how these might be achieved through reconstructing networks by appealing to notions of situated agency and tradition; it concludes by considering the potential methodologies to be employed, with particular emphasis on ethnography.     

Understanding Multilevel Governance Processes through Complexity Theory: An Empirical Case Study of the Quebec Health-Care System

This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of multilevel governance processes. We do so by focusing on the in-depth examination of the institutional changes recently implemented in the Quebec health care delivery system that require a close collaboration between interdependent actors acting at various levels of governance. Our three research questions are: (1) How does multi-level governance emerge in a pluralist institutuional context? (2) How do multi-level governance processes shape the adaptive capacity of the organization to its environment? (3) How does institutional context influence these multi-governance processes?Our empirical investigation is inspired by the theory of complexity which invites us to pay attention to three processes: self-organization, eco-self organization and co-evolution. This study shows that the effectiveness of multi-level governance processes do not only go through the implementation of instruments aiming at aligning the action of lower government levels with the objectives of the upper levels as suggested by numerous existing works. More precisely, it suggests that more distributed and coordinated processes favor a more homogenous form of adaptation (Miller and Page, 2007) taking into account the interdependence between stakeholders.     

东盟跨境数据流动治理的机制构建

跨境数据流动是全球数字经济的重要基础,也是全球治理的新兴议题。在数字经济发展和东盟区域一体化的趋势下,东盟从统筹数字经济发展与数据保护入手,着眼于提升东盟国际竞争力和话语权,制定并完善跨境数据流动治理机制。这一机制的构建始于新加坡对数据保护规制的探索,基于东盟个人数据保护框架,在东盟数字一体化总体框架下制定数字管理框架,并以“东盟示范合同条款”和“东盟跨境数据流动认证”两大关键手段促进机制落实。该机制具有灵活性、包容性和指导性的特征,有利于促进东盟地区数字经济发展,降低谈判成本与合规成本,获得更多全球竞争优势。对于中国而言,在与东盟跨境数据流动治理机制合作对接方面具备可能性和可行性,需要充分认识和评估东盟机制对世界数字治理的影响、对地区数字经济秩序的挑战,推动中国与东盟之间的数字经济合作。