Sustainable development is a cross-cutting issue par excellence that is thought to require a high level of policy coordination. This is especially true considering that the European Union (EU) has also accepted that its internal policies must support the sustainable development of other countries, particularly developing countries. The EU is increasingly employing new modes of governance to achieve this, in particular network-based policy coordination mechanisms. However, despite a raft of literature on policy networks in the EU, the majority of the empirical work has focused only on sectoral networks. This has led to an ambiguity surrounding the use of networks in governing cross-cutting policy areas, which this thesis attempts to address. Specifically, the assumption that networks are always self-steering is tested. Elite interviews and documentary analysis are used to complete three tasks. First, the general patterns of coordination of the external dimension ofEU sustainable development in three network-based policy coordination mechanisms are examined, namely the Cardiff process, Impact Assessment and Thematic Strategies. Next, three in-depth case studies are presented, namely mercury, sugar and tobacco policy. Then, the observed pattern and level ofcoordination is discussed using an analytical framework which distinguishes two types ofpolicy networks: intra-sector and inter-sector. This thesis arrives at four main findings. First, it confirms that the external dimension has . often been neglected in the EU's implementation of sustainable development. Second, the presence of networks does not necessarily lead to effective coordination. Sector networks can actually inhibit horizontal coordination where as inter-sector networks are needed for the coordination of cross-cutting policy issues. Third, contrary to the assumptions of some authors, inter-sector networks are not always self-steering. Finally, network-based coordination mechanisms are not a sufficient condition for networks to form. It is necessary for effective networks to already be in place if these mechanisms are to function effectively. Consequently, this thesis concludes that, if the EU is to continue to use networks in its approach to governing, it must be prepared to engage in a greater amount of hands-on management of these networks.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:490619 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Adelle, Camilla |
| Publisher | University of East Anglia |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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