The theme of this diploma thesis will be an introduction of a process of municipalities involvement in international relationships for which a term paradiplomacy has been established. The aim of the thesis is to point out the origins of formation of intercommunal cooperation between the villages of canton Bern and South Bohemia. A case study of a chosen South Bohemian city Sezimovo Ústí and Swiss village Thierachern will be used. Mapping of the first steps in the nineties of the twentieth century which lead to relationship establishment and its progressive development until now will be necessary. Interviews with representatives of both municipalities using an oral history method will become an integral part of this thesis. Methods of politology, history and sociology will be used to write this diploma thesis.

Au début de la décennie 2000, en France, les intercommunalités d'agglomération deviennent compétentes afin d'élaborer les politiques urbaines de transport et de déplacements. Ce changement pose la question des objectifs prioritaires assignés à ces politiques urbaines. Pour qui et pour quoi sont élaborées les politiques urbaines de transport et de déplacements ? Ce travail de thèse pose l'hypothèse d'une différenciation des objectifs prioritaires de ces politiques urbaines selon l'histoire sociale, économique et urbaine des territoires urbains. La confrontation systématique des objectifs prioritaires des politiques urbaines de transport et de déplacements aux identités territoriales des territoires intercommunaux aboutit au résultat central de ce travail, à savoir une opposition idéale typique de la substance des politiques urbaines de transport et de déplacements. D'un côté, des territoires à l'histoire ouvrière et industrielle, en quête de solidarité, déploient des politiques urbaines de transport et de déplacements qui s'emploient à réactualiser la dimension sociale de la mobilité dans un contexte de ville motorisée. De l'autre côté, des territoires à l'histoire bourgeoise, en quête d'attractivité, déploient des politiques de transport et de déplacements dominées par l'impératif du rayonnement et de l'attractivité de la ville-centre à l'échelle de la région urbaine. Ce résultat de recherche interroge directement les registres de la solidarité métropolitaines qui émergeront de la future métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence. / During the first decade of the 21 century, in France, responsibility for the planning of urban transportation and mobility policies was transferred to the inter-municipal institutions. This major evolution now raises the question of the priorities assigned to these urban policies. For whom and why are these urban transport and mobility policies developed? In this context, this thesis is based on the assumption of a diferentiation in these urban policies priorities related to the social, economic and urban history of the urban territories. We will first describe the four supra-communal Marseille Urban Region identities. Then we will analyze the urban public transit and parking regulation policies implemented since the early 2000s by these four inter-municipal institutions. The systematic confrontation of these urban identities with the key objectives of these urban transport and mobility policies brings us to the central result of this work: a typical ideal opposition of the substance of these urban policies. On the one hand, industrial and working class territories, seeking more solidarity, develop urban transport and mobility policies putting forward the social dimension of mobility in a motorized city context. On the other hand, the bourgeois territories, in search of more attractiveness, devise urban transport and mobility policies dominated by the imperative of influence and attractiveness of the core city over the urban region. This research result directly brings up questions about the nature of the metropolitan solidarity that will emerge from the future Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan institution.

My research problem is that there are different ways to organize a chief guardians office at the same time as the Deputy Inquiry (2021:36) gives suggestions on making one type of organization form mandatory. The chief guardians are not uniform and the muncipalities can organize their chief guardians office in different ways. At the same time, the Deputy Inquiry (2021:36) have given a proposals to restrict municipal self government in order to ensure increased quality and legal certainty in the exercise of authority through a certain type of organization.The purpose of my thesis is to shed light on muncicipalities choice of organizational form for their chief guardians office and officials perceptions of its advantages and disadvantages of the same. The thesis theoretical framework is partly organizations as instruments, partly the values of democray, rule of law and efficiency. I use a qualitative reserach design where my material consists of interviews and public documents. My conclusion is that there are different reasons/purposes for the chosen forms of organization. The purposes are not identical with each other. The purposes also differs between whether the chief guardians office is conducted in-house or through collaboration.My thesis shows that the pros and cons of the different types of form of organization differs.Regardless of whether the organization is in collaboration or under its own auspeices, the bord of chief guardian or chief guardian can contribute to organizational structures that can have different advantages and disadvantages. Chief guardians that are organized via intermunicipal collboration can easily recruit personel, has judicial competence and has more personel. They also contribute to increased uniformity over a larger geographic area. But they can also have negative effects such as can be derived from structure. An unexpected but interesting finding that emerged during my work is to be ”made visible”. In my analysis Iargue that democracy maybe is the value that underlies efficieny and rule of law.There are perceptions about a most appropriate way to organize the chief guardians office of. My conclusion is that the joint committe is perceived to be the most appropriate form of organization.

This thesis deals with the security system care services and other related services, including informal care for seniors in the Czech Republic. The aim of the work is to evaluate, describe and offer a closer understanding of nursing as a basic social care service in connection with the principle of shared care in a natural home environment for seniors as the ideal form of care for the elderly at present and due to the demographic development in the future. The thesis is divided into a theoretical and a practical part. The theoretical part covers three main topics: day care service system in the Czech Republic, seniors as a target group of caring and sharing and municipalities and their role in caring for the elderly. The practical part is devoted to the research, which focuses on the relationship of care services and communities from the perspective of potential service users, ie. the elderly. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods is used in the research and interprets the results of the survey conducted among the elderly in three senior clubs in Prague 17. The research complements the findings mentioned in the theoretical part.

This thesis focuses on the issue of the development of the Šumava National Park, which is in the long-term determined by external political and social circumstances. In terms of the local development there are defined key actors whose activities and level of their cooperation affects the quality of social capital, which influences the character of horizontal and vertical social networks. An important aspect of the social-economic development of the case study area is the relationship between local municipalities and the Šumava National park management, whose activities are regulated by specific laws. Based on field survey of representatives of local development we identified key factors forming this relationship and affecting the social development of the protected area. Key words: local development, social networks, social capital, local development actors, inter- municipal cooperation, nature protection, the Šumava National Park

<p>Med anledning av att flera kriser av extraordinära slag har inträffat i fredstid har förmågan att hantera dessa fått stor uppmärksamhet. Ett exempel är stormen Gudrun som lamslog delar av Sverige i januari 2005. För att kunna hantera sådana kriser behövs en fungerande beredskap och här har kommunerna en viktig roll. Om kommunerna har en väl utvecklad krisberedskap kan samhället bättre klara av en kris. Genom utvärderingar och erfarenheter från kriser har det visat sig att samverkan mellan kommuner är av stor betydelse för en god krisberedskap. Därmed är det av intresse att studera hur en sådan kan utvecklas mellan kommuner. Vilka faktorer är viktiga för att samverkan ska utvecklas? Är ömsesidig förståelse mellan kommunerna av betydelse? Vilken vikt har förtroende och tillit för samverkan? Inverkar geografin och demografin på kommuners samverkan? Påverkas samverkan av resursberoende och ekonomiska faktorer? Vilken betydelse har politiska beslut för kommuners samverkan? Detta är uppsatsens fokus där samverkan mellan fem kommuner kring krisberedskap studeras med stöd av policynätverksteori med kollektiv handling.</p><p>Studien visade bland annat att faktorer såsom geografisk närhet, demografi, ekonomi och resursutbyte var viktiga för samverkan och skapandet av policynätverk bland de fem kommunerna. Även en samstämmig problemdefinition, förtroende och en ömsesidig förståelse mellan aktörerna inbegreps som betydelsefulla liksom regelverk samt Krisberedskapsmyndigheten (KBM) och Länsstyrelsen i Östergötland.</p> / <p>Through several crises of extraordinary nature in peacetime the capacity of emergency management has been brought up on to the agenda. Recently, in year 2005, Sweden faced a big storm named Gudrun that caused total devastation. In order to cope with crises like Gudrun a proficient emergency management has shown to be essential in which municipalities have a fundamental function. With a well developed emergency management at the local level society is better equipped to manage crises. According to research on and experiences from crises, cooperation and networking among municipalities is crucial for an efficient emergency management. Consequently there is an interest in studying how cooperation between municipalities can develop within the area of emergency management. Which factors are important for the development of cooperation? Is mutual understanding among the actors important? Which implications do trust and confidence have upon cooperation? Are resource dependencies and economic factors central for the shaping of policy network? Do the geographic and the demographic characterise municipalities’ cooperation? Do political decisions have any significant role in the shaping of policy network? This is the focus of the essay where cooperation between five municipalities in emergency management is studied using policy network theory with collective action.</p><p>The essay shows that geographical, demographically and economical factors as well as resource dependencies are important for cooperation and the development of policy networks among the five municipalities. Also important were a common foundation, trust and a mutual understanding between the actors. Additionally, new regulations and two authorities – Swedish Emergency Management Authority (SEMA) and the County administrative board of Östergötland – also influenced the cooperation in a positive way.</p>

Thème souvent oublié des réformes récentes de notre organisation territoriale, le droit patrimonial intercommunal n’est pourtant pas un non-sujet tant les enjeux l’entourant sont essentiels. Essentiels, d’une part, pour l’établissement public de coopération intercommunale et ses membres : exercice optimal des compétences et valorisation des biens sont les principaux défis que permet de relever le droit patrimonial intercommunal. Essentiels, d’autre part, pour l’État et le législateur : parvenir à un exercice cohérent des compétences tout en achevant et rationnalisant la carte intercommunale sans se préoccuper des impacts patrimoniaux paraît difficilement réalisable. Nous sommes donc convaincus que le droit patrimonial intercommunal doit devenir un véritable outil stratégique pour l’ensemble des acteurs de la coopération intercommunale. Si nous ajoutons à ces premières observations la circonstance que les règles composant ce que nous dénommons le droit patrimonial intercommunal ont peu changé depuis 1999 alors même que la coopération intercommunale et le contexte législatif dans lequel ses structures évoluent (l’entrée en vigueur du Code Général de la Propriété des Personnes Publiques en étant la parfaite illustration) ont connu de nombreux bouleversements, se pencher sur ce droit quelque peu particulier devient une nécessité. / Albeit oftentimes overlooked in French territorial organization reforms, inter-municipal property law is an essential topic with much at stake for various actors. Firstly, it is essential for inter-municipal cooperation syndicates and their members, for that it allows for the optimal exercise of competences and better use of goods. Secondly, it is essential for the state and the legislator: a coherent exercise of competences along with their rational distribution amongst local authorities can hardly go without considering impacts on property. Consequently, we are convinced that inter-municipal property law is a true strategical instrument for all the actors partaking in cooperation between towns. Additionally, if one considers that the rules that constitute what we call inter-municipal property law have not changed much since 1999, whilst the legal framework in which inter-municipal syndicates are placed has considerably evolved (the entry into force of the General Code for Public Legal Persons’ property being a perfect example), studying this somewhat peculiar field of law appears necessary.

This thesis aims to study if organizational culture affects the negotiation strategy in negotiation processes between municipalities in Sweden. Our cases are four municipalities involved in the municipal cooperation “Tillväxt Bohuslän”; a project which aims to foster cooperation. The question this thesis seeks to answer is: “Does the cultural attribute of organizational culture (ability for joint action) of the municipalities in ‘Tillväxt Bohuslän’ affect negotiation strategy in a negotiation process?” The municipalities’ ability for joint action has been classified as either strong or weak by a previous study. This thesis uses these already established classifications with the intention to test if they affect which negotiation strategy municipalities use. The negotiation strategy can either be of a competitive or a collaborative nature. The method to collect data about the municipalities’ negotiation strategies is semi-structured interviews with politicians who are actively involved in the negotiation in the municipal cooperation “Tillväxt Bohuslän”. Results from the analysis in this thesis show a zero result; the municipalities’ ability for joint action does not affect which negotiation strategy they use. However, interesting empirical findings are explored.

With potential of increased efficiency and a broader range of services, inter-municipal cooperation is often presented as a universal solution to public welfare challenges. Today, all Swedish municipalities are involved in inter-municipal cooperation in various policy areas. However, little is known about the municipalities’ capacity to coordinate their cooperation arrangements in the complex network of institutions and overlapping territories that characterise the regional level of governance. Building on the institutional collective action framework and the concept of governance capacity, this study examines how the municipalities’ capacity for regional coordination of upper secondary education in the city region of Örebro County varies depending on the institutional structures, the opportunities for cooperation and the social capital that embed the inter-municipal arrangements. The empirical study is based on a mixed method approach; where a qualitative content analysis of public documents is combined with interviews of representatives from different inter-municipal arrangements in Örebro County. By analysing how inter-municipal cooperation on upper secondary education has emerged and developed in Örebro County, this study shows how the municipalities have established institutions at two different levels. In Örebro County, regional networks and contracts operate in parallel with local agreements and municipal associations with delegated authority – only including a few municipalities in the city region. Several of the cooperation arrangements also include actors from the private sector and different levels of governance. The emergence of these inter-municipal cooperation arrangements can be interpreted as an institutional outcome of the municipalities' intrinsic motives to ensure a wide range of education to their local citizens as well as the need to secure the supply of skills and workforce in private and public sector. But it can also be interpreted as a strategy for the smaller municipalities to ensure their influence and governance capacity in the city region – which has a built- in power asymmetry linked to the municipalities’ heterogeneity. The emergence of the cooperation arrangements also illustrates a path dependent development, where the municipalities’ historical collaboration tradition determines which institutions that emerge and to which degree social capital can be established. Particularly noteworthy in the emergence of the inter-municipal cooperation in Örebro County is the presence of government, which manifests itself through conditional financing of the inter-municipal cooperation arrangements. Thus, within one and the same geographical city region, and within one and the same policy area, there is an overlap of different inter-municipal collaborative arrangements and functional regions, which has emerged in a symbiosis of both horizontal and vertical relations. As a result, the regionalisation that the municipalities create “bottom up”, through voluntary cooperation, work in parallel with the regionalisation that is created “top down”, through formal regional institutions.

La politique de réforme et de modernisation de l’État engagée par les gouvernements français successifs a visé à mettre l’organisation territoriale de la République aux standards des grandes démocraties occidentales comme l’indique l’avant-propos du dernier projet de loi de décentralisation. La question du nombre de communes en France est partie prenante de cette réflexion. C’est ainsi que la loi du 16 décembre 2010, sous l’influence du rapport rendu par le comité Balladur en mars 2009 et qui s’intitulait «il est temps de décider » a eu pour ambition d’engager la création d’un nouveau dispositif de fusion de communes : «la commune nouvelle». L’objectif est de poser les fondements de la commune du 21ème siècle en facilitant les fusions de communes par l'amélioration du système né de la loi Marcellin du 16 juillet 1971 qui avait connu un succès limité. La récente proposition de loi déposée par le député maire de Lons le Saunier Jacques Pélissard vise à « consolider, améliorer et rendre plus attractif le dispositif de commune nouvelle dans un contexte de nécessaire optimisation de notre organisation territoriale. » 3) Les enjeux : La France et l’Europe font face à une métamorphose économique qui les oblige à s’interroger sur leur organisation administrative. La construction européenne, la mondialisation, et le contexte de crise généralisée auquel la France est confrontée l’oblige à s’interroger sur l’efficacité de ses structures publiques. L’organisation territoriale de la France est-elle à même de répondre aux exigences d’action publiques que le 21ème siècle exige ? Une structure pluriséculaires comme la commune peut elle se moderniser pour faire face ? Bon nombre de pays voisins de la France ont drastiquement réduit le nombre de leurs communes. Le Royaume uni possède 4000 seulement pour une population comparable à celle de la France. Mais s’arrêter à la dimension financière ou structurelle de la commune cacherait le fait que la décentralisation est d’abord et avant tout un processus démocratique et historique. La commune occupe une place centrale dans ce dispositif démocratique français. 4) La problématique :Ce tableau général de la France du début du 21ème siècle nous amène à nous interroger sur la nature de ce nouveau régime. Quels sont les ressorts, les enjeux et les perspectives du régime des « communes nouvelles » et que nous dit-il sur l’avenir de la commune en France? Par la commune nouvelle, assiste-t-on au renforcement de la commune? Ou assiste-t-on au contraire à une dynamique de disparition progressive de la commune au profit d’ensembles plus larges, le régime de commune nouvelles étant un outil de plus de la transformation des structures territoriales historiques par la recherche d’un optimum de l’efficacité. Cette approche nous amènera nécessairement à nous interroger sur le rapport entre la commune nouvelle et l'intercommunalité. La commune nouvelle est-elle la forme la plus aboutie de l’intercommunalité? / The communal fragmentation is at the origin of the communal crisis. The size of the communal perimeters is indeed inadequate to the needs of the citizens and leads to the marginalization of French municipalities. The merger of municipalities is a response to this situation. The latter has not, for the time, substantially reduce the number of municipalities. Created in 2010, the "commune nouvelle" aims to revive the process of fusion. It is therefore a question of defining the impact of this new fusion regime on the municipality. If the "commune nouvelle" first allows the strengthening of municipalities in their means of action, it also endorses a renewal of their institutions. These two dynamics must be assessed in view of the growing importance of intercommunality. It has long appeared as a competitor of the merger of municipalities. However, the law now imposes inter-municipal cooperation to ail municipalities including "communes nouvelles". This obligation does not condemn the latter to marginality. Indeed, the increase of intermunicipal perimeters recorded in 2015, promotes the emergence of a need of proximity that the majority of municipalities are not able to assume given their size. The development of the "commune nouvelle" is therefore useful to the good govemance of the municipal bloc. It can contain the continuous growth of intercommunality and thus mark the great return of the municipality in the French territorial architecture.