Mayors in Vertical Power Relations
From a constitutional point of view, cities are local governments. Some of them may proudly look back on a past as autonomous states. During the construction of the nation states in the 18th and 19th century, European cities were squeezed into the corset of national intergovernmental frameworks. No matter how glorious their past forgone, European cities henceforth occupy a subordinate position within national state polities. Their autonomy is limited by upper levels of government, such as regions, federate states, and the central state. Of course, the nature and the extent of these limitations differ across space and time, resulting in a great variation of patterns of constraints to which city governments have to comply, as well as of structures of opportunities through which they can expand their freedom to act.
Weaving nets: Housing and leadership in two Italian cities
As part of local welfare in Italy, housing policies underwent reforms that emphasized the role of local governments – and cities in particular – in the definition of the problem and in the elaboration of possible solutions. Housing is quite neglected in the political debate, but it is increasingly important for responding to citizens’ demands in times of economic crisis. This paper reconstructs the policy process in two Italian cities, Turin (1997-2011) and Florence (1995-2011). The paper argues that policy change in housing can be fostered by a local political leadership that invests ideational, relational and positional resources in policymaking to spread new ideas, build networks of public and private actors at the local level, and attract fiscal resources while taking advantage of windows of opportunity at different institutional levels. Moreover, collaboration with local bureaucratic leadership proves fundamental to promoting innovative policies.
Greece's New Political Economy: State, Finance and Growth from Postwar to EMU
Introduction: The Importance of Finance and the Origins of Developmentalism Regime Dependencies and the Political Economy of Postwar Economic Policies Policy Paradigms, Financial Intervention and the Limits of Developmentalism Crisis and Transition: Regime Change, Democratization and the Decline of Developmentalism Central Bank, Government and the Politics of Financial Liberalization Banks and Socioeconomic Interests: Winners and Losers of Financial Reform The New Political Economy of Financial Integration, Globalization and the EMU State, Finance and Growth: Beyond the New Political Economy