This thesis examined how Covid-19 affected the role of CSOs in the MLG EU’s system and how these CSOs adapted to the new challenges that appeared during the crisis to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on civil society in the EU. Moreover, it also used two case studies, Barcelona and Stockholm, that by focusing on the role of their CSOs during Covid-19 helped understand better how was the role of CSOs in the MLG EU’s system and allowed to give some normative recommendations on what lessons can be taken to the EU from CSOs of these two case studies, to improve the EU action across the different levels of governance when another crisis occurs. The method of analysis used in this research is thematic literature review because it allowed me to have a thematic combination of sources that were used to come up with a current summary of empirical and theoretical findings of the CSOs role and adaptation in the MLG EU’s system and from the two case studies, Barcelona and Stockholm. The analysis concludes that CSOs during the pandemic suffered a reduction of their civic space, but they were considered essential actors in the MLG EU’s system with a more relevant role than before Covid-19 because they showed their importance in reducing the social gap during the pandemic when the EU and EUMS could not handle society's needs alone. Moreover, CSOs showed how they can be very resilient when a crisis such as Covid-19 hit, they could adapt rapidly their vital services by switching their activities to digital mode among other initiatives to meet these challenges. It also showed, with the academic normative discussion on the EU and the two case studies, that the EU need to include CSOs, especially CSOs at the local level, in the participation for the agenda-setting as their knowledge and important role can contribute to making a more effective EU action plan for the different levels of governance when another crisis occurs helping reduce the lack of coordination that the EU experienced during Covid-19.

Denna studie undersöker det tolkningsutrymme som kan komma att uppstå på grund av oklarheter i förfarandet vad gäller tillfälliga samarbetskonstellationer. Studien är en fallstudie av kvalitativ art och empirin har insamlats med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Fallet består av en samarbetskonstellation och dess beslutsprocess inför en eventuell etablering av en dryport i kommunerna Bjuv och Åstorp. Studien påvisar att det finns oklarheter som har lett till ett tolkningsutrymme var i de olika aktörerna ges möjlighet till att behålla och utveckla sina egna tolkningar av det aktuella problemområdet. Detta har i sin tur lett till att aktörer som i konstellationens början kände sig tveksamma till projektet har ändrat uppfattning och fått en mer positiv syn på situationen. Studien visar vidare på att frivilligheten för deltagande kan ändras med tiden och att detta kan ske i det så kallade tolkningsutrymmet. Frivilligheten kan även påverkas av olika beroendeförhållanden i relation till samarbetskonstellationen. / This study investigates the margin for interpretation that can rise due to uncertainties in the procedure for temporary constellations for cooperation. The study is a case study of qualitative nature and the empiric part has been collected with semi–structured interviews. The case consists of a constellation for cooperation and its decision process for a potential establishment of a dryport in the municipalities of Bjuv and Åstorp. The study shows that there are unclear points that have led to a margin for interpretation where the different actors are given the possibility to keep and develop their own interpretation of the problem area. This has in turn led to that the actors, that at the start of the constellation were doubtful to the project, have changed their view into a more positive one. Furthermore, the study shows that the voluntary participation can change over time and that this can happen within the so called margin for interpretation. The voluntariness can also be affected by different interdependencies in relation to the constellation for cooperation.

No / The European Union (EU) is an evolving system of multi-level governance (MLG). For scholars of the EU, a critical question is which level of governance has the most decisive influence on the integration process? Some studies of EU regional policy claim that subnational actors, using channels of interest representation that bypass national officials, interact directly with EU policy-makers generating outcomes that are neither desired nor intended by national executives. This article examines the development of EU biodiversity policy over a thirty-year period (c. 1970-2000) and finds that environmental groups, who were generally marginalized at the national level in Britain, have learnt to use EU opportunities to outflank the government, resulting in policy outcomes that they would be unlikely to secure through national channels of representation. However, the evidence presented suggests that supranational actors were the major cause of these unintended consequences, not environmental groups.

The Arctic regions are currently undergoing transformative changes linked to globalization and climate change, which pose challenges for current governance structures. This thesis investigates governance in times of change through the lens of reindeer pastoralism, and the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)- based management in reindeer herding. While studies increasingly highlight the benefits of incorporating TEK into governance, a central challenge remains in finding ways to ensure integration. To contribute such knowledge, this thesis analyses how reindeer-herding local management systems interact with multiple processes of governance steering reindeer pastoralism, and the ways TEK is negotiated in such interactions. Theoretically, the thesis draws on literature on multi-level governance as an analytical framework for engaging with different types of governance processes and actors, and the literature on TEK to conceptualize local social institutions. Methodologically, a qualitative bottom-up methodological strategy (with local reindeer-herding groups and constellations – siidas, brigadas – forming the central starting point for the research) was adopted, focusing on cases from reindeer pastoralism in western Finnmark in northern Norway and Yamal in northwest Siberia. The results show that local reindeer herding organizations are incorporated into processes of governance through participatory, representative and deliberative processes for decision-making. Yet, such incorporation has not facilitated integration of the TEK to processes of governance. A central challenge is that current governance processes are formalized in a way that do not accommodate non-scientific ways of knowing, or non hierarchical consensus-based decision- making. The thesis thus highlights the need for holistic strategies for how to include TEK in governance. Co-management and participatory processes alone are not enough. / IPY EALÁT, the Reindeer Herders Vulnerability Network Study / RUF: Forvaltning i endring

All Norwegian regions are represented with permanent offices and are engaged in different activities in the EU capital. This thesis investigates the regional and network level of EU policy-making, and asks the questions of what Norwegian regions are doing in Brussels; if are they are able to influence EU policy; and what effect participation in transnational policy networks have on their abilities to influence EU policy. To answer this, it applies a theoretical framework comprised of multi-level governance and the policy network approach to conduct an analysis of empirical data collected through interviews with different actors in Brussels. The present thesis argues that participation in transnational policy networks improve Norwegian regions' abilities to influence EU policy through being 'representations of scale'.

The thesis explores issues relating to transformative change in the context of marine governance in the Coral Triangle, and the effects of such change processes on policy, stakeholder relations and management activities. Paper 1 studies how change-oriented actors (institutional entrepreneurs) operating at the international level can introduce and purposefully navigate large-scalechange processes. Paper 2 studies the impact of resource inequality on multi-stakeholder collaboration, and tackles the literature of boundary work so as to increase its usefulness for understanding complex, multi-level governance initiatives. Paper 3 explores how narratives about the marine environment are entwined with and influence critical aspects of marine ecosystem governance such as resource allocation, day-to-day management actions, stakeholder relations, and long-term ecological monitoring. Paper 4 investigates how actors at the local level can capture opportunities at higher institutional levels while at the same time catalyzing local potential for change by focusing on the interplay between strategies,opportunity and context. The results show that institutional entrepreneurship requires understanding of how strategies can be matched with opportunity and context, for example by offering a way for other actors to address key priorities and add value to their organizations. The results also show that behind the scene organizing is often a precondition for the introduction of transformative change. Shifting the process from an informal track to a formal track where ideas about transformative change can be deliberated among a broader set ofstakeholders is thus a major challenge. Moreover, a strong narrative is key to successfully introducing and driving transformative change. In this sense, the ability to articulate and distribute a narrative which tells a compelling story about the broader system is critical. Finally, power dynamics are constantly at play in transformation processes due to resource asymmetries. The thesis shows that differences in resources may influence the credibility, legitimacy, and salience of transformative change. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: In press.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to map and assess the organisational and ideological development of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform party, the ELDR. More specifically, it seeks to analyse the degree of integration between the members of the ELDR over time, to identify factors that may or may not generate integration, to relate the development of the ELDR to earlier research about European parties, and finally to contribute to the ongoing debate about whether or not the traditional national party families are about to establish parties at the European level. The thesis is based on the assumption that parties adapt to their environment, in this case, the system of multi-level governance that characterises the European Union. As the European parties are composed of national parties, they are also dependent on the member parties' opportunities and motives for cooperation. If there is integration, we can, however, not only expect the European parties to adapt to their environment. As they become independent actors, they may also influence their environment. In other words, we can anticipate interaction between the European and national levels that leads to mutual adaptation, or Europeanisation. To be able to capture the interaction between the two levels, theories from international relations and comparative politics are combined. Based on interviews, participant observation, documentary research and content analysis of European election manifestos, the analyses shows that the members of the ELDR have over time reached a rather advanced level of integration, both organisationally and ideologically. Although it is possible to identify constraining factors to this development, the ELDR has, at least from what is known from literature, reached about the same level of development as the two other European parties, the Christian democratic EPP and the Social democratic PES. The internal integration of the ELDR is the outcome of a successive transfer of power from the member parties to the ELDR. By now, the ELDR can therefore be defined as a rather independent actor and as a type of party at the European level. This type of party is, however, not comparable to national parties. It is instead adapted to the institutional structure of the European Union, with, at least partly, a different organisation and different functions from those of national parties. / digitalisering@umu

International climate change agreements and the European Union legislation have an influence on different levels of governance, including national legal systems and administrative schemes. The following research question is addressed in the doctoral dissertation: “How does Lithuania, specifically the industrial sector, implement GHG reduction requirements under the Kyoto Protocol and the European Union regulations?” Implementation of GHG emission reductions is analyzed from a perspective of multi-level governance and sociology of law. The research is carried out on four levels – supra-state; state; sub-state and societal. These are described as international; national; administrative and industrial arenas in the dissertation. Hence the implementation of climate change legal rules is based on authoritative decision-making across multiple territorial levels. In the dissertation, legal frameworks regarding reductions of GHG emissions are described - and the institutions along with their mandates are identified. There is a hierarchical top-down regulated implementation of legal rules and actors involved at different levels. A perspective based upon Sociology of Law makes it possible to relate the top-down implementation of legal rules to society. In the dissertation the most dominant driving forces and norms affecting actors on each level of implementation are evaluated, by interviewing respondents from state and administrative institutions and industrial companies... [to full text] / Tarptautiniai klimato kaitos susitarimai ir Europos Sąjungos teisės aktai veikia skirtingus valdymo lygmenis, įskaitant nacionalines teisės sistemas ir administravimo modelius. Disertacijoje iškeltas tyrimo klausimas – kaip Lietuva, konkrečiai pramonės sektorius, įgyvendina šiltnamio efektą sukeliančių dujų (toliau – ŠESD) emisijų mažinimo reikalavimus, nustatytus Kioto protokolu ir Europos Sąjungos teisės aktais. Reikalavimų mažinti ŠESD emisijas įgyvendinimas yra analizuojamas daugiapakopio valdymo perspektyvoje. Analizuojami keturi lygmenys – viršvalstybinis, valstybinis, subvalstybinis ir visuomeninis, kurie disertacijoje gretinami su tarptautine, nacionaline, administracine ir pramonės plotmėmis. Taigi klimato kaitos teisės aktų įgyvendinimas paremtas valdžios sprendimų priėmimo dispersija skirtinguose lygmenyse. Disertacijoje apibūdintos teisės sistemos, susijusios su ŠESD mažinimu, identifikuojant institucijas ir jų įgaliojimus. Remiantis teisės sociologijos perspektyva, hierarchinis teisės normų įgyvendinimo principas siejamas su teisės poveikiu (ir atsaku) pramonės sektoriuje. Atlikus kokybinį tyrimą imant interviu iš tyrimo dalyvių, kurie dirba valstybės ir administracinėse institucijose ir pramonės įmonėse, išnagrinėti ir įvertinti skatinantys veiksniai ir normos, veikiančios dalyvių elgseną kiekviename tiriamajame lygmenyje. Ištirtas pramonės sektoriaus atsakas politikos įgyvendinimo procese bei pateikti pasiūlymai dėl Kioto protokolo ir Europos Sąjungos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Submitted by Laura Rezende Fuser (laurafuser@gmail.com) on 2016-03-28T09:59:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Laura Fuser - Dissertação 2016 - Territórios da Cidadania.pdf: 2458682 bytes, checksum: bac5da8da31ec0ab98ce47149feccd24 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2016-03-28T19:43:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Laura Fuser - Dissertação 2016 - Territórios da Cidadania.pdf: 2458682 bytes, checksum: bac5da8da31ec0ab98ce47149feccd24 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-28T19:47:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Laura Fuser - Dissertação 2016 - Territórios da Cidadania.pdf: 2458682 bytes, checksum: bac5da8da31ec0ab98ce47149feccd24 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-23 / Poverty in Brazil has been gradually reduced. Among the main reasons, there are public policies for universalization of rights. On the other hand, the municipalities' Human Development Index indicates scenarios of growing inequality. In other words, some regions, basically of rural character, were left behind in that process of development. In 2008, the “Territórios da Cidadania” (Territories of Citizenship) Program was launched by the federal government, under high expectations. It was proposed to develop those regions and to prioritize the arrival of ongoing federal public policies where they were most demanded. The program has shown an innovative arrangement which included dozens of ministries and other federal agencies, state governments, municipalities and collegialities to the palliative management and control of the territory. In this structure, both new and existing jurisdictions came to support the program coordination. This arrangement was classified as an example of multi-level governance, whose theory has been an efficient instrument to understand the intra- and intergovernmental relations under which the program took place. The program lasted only three years. In Vale do Ribeira Territory – SP, few community leaderships acknowledge it, although not having further information about its actions and effects. Against this background, the approach of this research aims to study the program coordination and governance structure (from Vale Territory, considered as the most local level, until the federal government), based on the hypothesis that, beyond the local contingencies in Vale do Ribeira, the layout and implementation of the Territories of Citizenship Program as they were formulated possess fundamental structural issues that hinder its goals of reducing poverty and inequality through promoting the development of the territory. Complementing the research, its specific goal was to raise the program layout and background in order to understand how the relations, predicted or not in its structure, were formulated and how they were developed, with special attention to Vale do Ribeira-SP. Generally speaking, it was concluded that the coordination and governance arrangement of the Territories of Citizenship Program failed for not having developed qualified solutions to deal with the challenges of the federalist Brazilian structure, party politics, sectorized public actions, or even the territory contingencies and specificities. The complexity of the program, the poverty problem proposed to be faced, and the territorial strategy of development charged a high cost of coordination, which was not accomplished by the proposal of centralization in the federal government with internal decentralization of the coordination. As the presidency changed in 2011, the program could not present results that were able to justify the arguments for its continuation, therefore it was paralyzed, lost its priority status, and the resources previously invested were redirected. / A pobreza no Brasil vem paulatinamente sendo reduzida. Dentre os principais motivos estão políticas públicas de universalização de direitos. No entanto, cenários baseados nos índices de Desenvolvimento Humano, calculados nos municípios, apontam que, por outro lado, a desigualdade vem crescendo no país. Ou seja, algumas regiões, basicamente de caráter rural, ficaram para trás nesse processo de desenvolvimento. Em 2008, foi lançado pelo governo federal o Programa Territórios da Cidadania, que sob grandes expectativas se propôs a desenvolver essas regiões ao focalizar e priorizar a chegada de políticas públicas federais em curso onde eram mais demandadas. O programa apresentou um arranjo inovador onde foram incluídos dezenas de ministérios e outros órgãos federais, governos estaduais, municípios e colegiados criados para a gestão e controle territorial participativos. Nessa estrutura, instâncias existentes e novas surgiram para apoiar a coordenação do programa. Esse arranjo foi classificado como um exemplo de multi-level governance, ou governança de multinível, cuja teoria mostrou-se um instrumento interessante para entender as relações intra e intergovernamentais sob as quais o programa aconteceu. O programa durou apenas três anos. No Território Vale do Ribeira-SP, são poucas as lideranças comunitárias que o reconhecem, não tendo informações sobre suas ações e efeitos. Frente a esse cenário, a abordagem dessa pesquisa objetiva estudar a estrutura de coordenação e governança do programa (tendo o território do Vale como o nível mais local, até o governo federal), a partir da hipótese que, para além das contingências locais no Vale do Ribeira, o desenho e a implantação do Programa Territórios da Cidadania como formulados possuem questões estruturais fundamentais que dificultam atingir seu objetivo de reduzir a pobreza e a desigualdade a partir da promoção do desenvolvimento territorial. Complementando a pesquisa, seu objetivo específico foi levantar o desenho e o histórico do programa para entender como as relações, previstas ou não em sua estrutura, foram formuladas e como se desenvolveram, com atenção especial ao Vale do Ribeira-SP. De forma geral, concluiu-se que o arranjo de coordenação e governança do Programa Territórios da Cidadania fracassou por não ter elaborado soluções qualificadas frente aos desafios da estrutura federalista brasileira, da política partidária, da setorialização das ações públicas, e mesmo frente às contingências e especificidades do território. A complexidade do programa, do problema da pobreza que se propôs enfrentar, e a estratégia territorial de desenvolvimento cobraram um alto custo de coordenação, que não se realizou na proposta de centralização no governo federal com descentralização interna de coordenação. Com a mudança na presidência em 2011, o programa não pôde apresentar resultados que justificassem argumentos por sua continuação, de modo que foi paralisado, perdeu seu status de prioridade e os recursos antes nele investidos foram redirecionados.

Cross-border cooperation is growing mostly thanks to incentives in the form of funding under the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and its Interreg programme also called European Territorial Cooperation (ETC). This funding and support under EU cohesion policy, aims at reducing the economic, social and territorial disparities between the EU regions rather than between EU countries. The deepening of European integration on the ground may however be facing obstacles inherent to each country’s specificities Examples include form of government, socioeconomic conditions, political and legal framework. This paper is about cooperation in education in one of the established European cross-border regions called Greater Region (GR), which is an area stretching from Luxembourg, France (Grand Est Region), Belgium (Wallonia region, French community  and German-speaking community of Belgium) and Germany (Rhine-Palatinate and Saarland). The interregional cooperation in education in the GR is framed under Interreg VA and takes shape through cross-border projects and educational networks. These projects are jointly defined by partners from across the Greater region, to achieve the European educational objectives Horizon 2020. This paper will study a cross-border project and its networks in education and within the GR. The research will be conceptualised in multilevel governance (MLG). MLG supposes different levels of interaction, cooperation and networking between different levels of supranational, national and subnational authorities as well as public and private entities in decision-making process. A case study of the cross-border project Sesam’GR, monitored by Interreg VA GR, was chosen. The case study uses interviews as a research method to uncover the inherent obstacles and proposed solutions in such a European border region setting. The study is important in the general scheme of the EU overall integration project and for any existing and future educational projects and networks in particular. The GR lies at the geographic heart of the EU which includes four of its founding member countries. Sesam’GR project is by far the largest educational project in terms of finance and scale within Interreg. By the time the project has reached its end, there are positive indications that will set in motions other projects and will trigger an expansion and multiplication of networks despite the intrinsic challenges grounded in multi-level governance.