Research on sustainability, multi-level governance, and public transport has shown increasingattention to how the purpose of the transport system is framed and has generally advocatedshifting the focus of transport planning and policy from physical infrastructure to mobility andaccessibility on the local scale. Using multi-level governance theory, this research examines theimpact of multi-level governance on potential problems of public transport by analysing theinteraction between public transport's formal/informal actors, policy-making arrangements, andexisting institutional structures. The article argues that, starting from the local scale, solutionscan be proposed with multi-level governance to the governance problems in a city and regionaltransport unit in Sweden. It also explains that the role of the local scale in multi-level governanceneeds to be defended, and how planning decisions from the local scale shape the economic andsocial framework of public transport. Due to the limited literature on multi-level governance andpublic transport, it is also intended to contribute to literature and research in this field.Thus, understanding and managing a range of multi-level governance issues involves solving anddiscussing many transport issues from a multi-level governance framework that requires workingwith and/or seeking assistance from, public, private, civil society or others. The findings alsopoint to the benefits of this approach, although some challenges remain. Multi-level and multiactor governance is known to apply to local challenges, including a municipal-scale meetings tounderstand Sweden's public transport dynamics and approaches. The findings show that localauthorities use multi-level governance theories and positively affect public transport socially andeconomically

Ce travail de thèse a pour objectif d’étudier l’évolution de l’« Europe des régions » au sein du Conseil de l’Europe de 1957 à 2010. L’histoire du fait régional au sein de l’Organisation de Strasbourg est caractérisée par trois périodes clés. La première période débute en janvier 1957, avec la première réunion de la Conférence européenne des pouvoirs locaux (CPL) et dure jusqu’en 1975, quand elle devient un organe permanent du Conseil de l’Europe et reconnaît officiellement lesrégions en son sein. Une deuxième période se dessine ensuite de 1975 jusqu’en 1994, date de la création du Congrès des pouvoirs locaux et régionaux d’Europe (CPLRE). Le Congrès a un nouveau rôle politique et une place bien déterminés dans l’architecture institutionnelle du Conseil, et il dispose de deux Chambres, à savoir une Chambre des régions et une Chambre des pouvoirs locaux. Une dernière période s’étale enfin de 1994 à 2010. Il s’agit pour les régions et le Congrès de contribuer à la stabilité démocratique du continent européen par les activités de suivi de la démocratie locale etrégionale, des élections et de la réalisation de plusieurs programmes de coopération. / This research studies the evolution of the “Europe of the regions” in the Council of Europe from 1957 to 2010. The history of regions in the Council of Europe can be divided in three key periods. The first one starts in January 1957, with the first meeting of the European Conference of Local Authorities (ECLA) and ends in 1975, when it becomes a permanent organ of the Council of Europe and recognizes officially the regions. The second period starts in 1975 and ends in 1994, when theCongress of Local and Regional Authorities is created. The Congress has a new political role and status within the institutional architecture of the Council of Europe. Two Chambers are created within the Congress, one for regional authorities and another one for local authorities. The last period spreads from 1994 until 2010. From 1994, the regions and the Congress work to achieve the new statutory role, which is contributing to the democratic stability of the European continent by monitoring local and regional democracy, observing local and regional elections and implementing new cooperation programs.

La crise économique et financière de 2008 a été un moment révélateur pour les collectivités locales et les établissements de crédit dans l’utilisation des produits financiers structurés devenus « toxiques ». Depuis de nombreuses années, ces deux acteurs ont établi des relations contractuelles basées sur la combinaison de produits financiers classiques et de produits financiers dérivés devenus de plus en plus sophistiqués. Or, le contexte dans lequel ces relations s’exercent devient complexe et nécessite une prise de décision immédiate et durable pour encadrer leur avenir. Que ce soit le juge par sa jurisprudence ou l’État et le législateur qui ont mis en place un fonds de soutien, des lois, des circulaires et une charte, chacun a tenté de trouver des solutions aux problèmes rencontrés par les collectivités locales et leurs partenaires financiers.L’objet de notre thèse sera d’expliquer les raisons et les conséquences de l’utilisation, par les collectivités locales, de ces produits d’un nouveau genre proposés par les établissements de crédit. En suivant la chronologie des évènements que les acteurs en présence ont vécu, des réflexions juridiques seront menées autour de ces relations contractuelles passées, présentes et futures. / The 2008 economic crisis was a revealing event for local and regional authorities and credit institutions regarding the use of structured finance products, which had become « toxic ». For many years, both of them have been establishing contractual relationships based on the association of standard structured finance products and increasingly sophisticated derived finance products. However, as the context in which such relationships are taking place is becoming complex, an immediate and a sustainable decision-making is necessary to provide a framework to their future. Whether it is the judge through case laws or the State and the legislator through the development of a support fund, various laws, circular notes and a charter, each of them has tried to find solutions to the problems faced by the local and regional authorities and their financial partners.The object of the thesis is to explain why local and regional authorities used this new type of finance products provided by credit institutions and what the resulting consequences were. Following the chronology of the events experienced by all of these stakeholders, legal considerations on these past, current and future contractual relationships will be presented.

This thesis addresses the question as to why multilevel politics is becoming an integral part of politics in Europe. Multilevel politics is conceptualized as a system which functions through a complex web of political relations within and across levels of decision making. The thesis argues that the rise of multilevel politics can be explained by its institutionalization in terms of the emergence, the evolution and especially the effects of relevant institutions. Based on a mixed-method research project, the influence of European institutions on subnational actors and the alignment of actor motives with institutional characteristics are empirically shown. The first chapter of the dissertation establishes the centrality of institutions for political transformation, examines the role of transnational and domestic institutions for multilevel politics, and contextualizes the research question in terms of institution-actor relations. The second chapter develops a new-institutionalist theoretical framework that explains the emergence, the evolution and the effects of the institutions, and formulates a series of hypotheses with regard to freestanding institutional influence, power distribution, material benefits and political identification. The third chapter outlines the mixed-method research design which addresses individual-level and institutional-level variations through a Europe-wide survey and a comparative case study. The fourth chapter on survey results shows generally favourable views on multilevel politics, and strong associations of these views with the independent variables under scrutiny. The fifth chapter specifies a multivariate model which includes all posited variables and confirms the majority of the hypotheses. Therefore, the new-institutionalist argument is broadly confirmed, while there is relatively weak evidence to sustain sociological explanations. The final chapter compares the Committee of the Regions and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and examines the institutional characteristics which correspond to the hypothesized variables. It is then concluded that the two institutions share several overarching similarities, and display complementarity in other aspects.