Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Gilbert Scott Building - G466 (University of Glasgow)
The general presentation of measures of trust and transparency raises the question: how much do they vary within states, consistent with the tenets of multi-level governance? The communication sets out preliminary findings from the comparative project ‘Trust, Transparency & Multi-level Governance in the UK, Germany & France. In each member-state, we select one strong identity region (Wales, Brittany, Saxony), and one ‘instrumental’ region (North-West England, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Hesse); this comparative mix allows logically for varying identities, institutional configurations and resource profiles to be captured. In addition to their latent economic fragility, Saxony, Wales and Brittany all have pronounced historical identities. North-West England allows us to capture processes of meso-level convergence and divergence in a context where no formal regional political institutions exist but where new forms of metropolitan governance are taking root; Auvergne Rhone-Alpes and Hesse are regions with less marked historical identities, but more powerful economic and institutional resources, each with a strong metropolis. In each case, the selection of one strong identity, yet economically dependent region, and another more powerful instrumental region allows for within-case comparisons to occur. The paper presents survey data across Europe, as well as the findings of a bespoke survey carried out by You Gov into the new French regions in October 2016. The originality of the project is to admit the possibility that these trust and transparency mixes might vary as much within as across EU member-states, and that they are variable according to policy sector.
