Multi-level governance and institutional change. The Europeanization of regional policy in Italy

Abstract:

National-state policies occupy that space in politics between the supranational institutions and the subnational regional institutions. It is a space becoming increasingly constrained. This book looks at the processes and pressures at work in this area.

The work is organised in three parts. Part one sets out the conceptual framework for the research, introducing the concepts of Europeanisation, multi-level governance and institutionalization. Part two comprises a case study of the reform of regional policy in Italy in the 1990s, following three stages of change in state policy and their implications in terms of dynamics of institutionalism. Part three concentrates on the institutionalisation of the European policy space and the extent to which it has affected regional development policy and indeed the nature of Italian politics.

The work will interest those engaged in planning, economics, sociology, public administration and politics.

Enrico Gualini is Assistant Professor at the Institute for Metropolitan and International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam.