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Completed research programsCivil Society and Transnational Networks

Completed research programs

Research Unit: Civil Society and Transnational Networks





Transnational City Networks in Europe


v Focus of research
v Members of the Working Group
 v Publications
¬ City Network: Climate Alliance  1992-2003
 
  Focus of research

The decreasing capacity of individual nation states to act effectively has caused a change in the nature of European political institutions. This change is both a reflection of the impending loss of control at national level, as well as an attempt to counteract this apparent deficit. The transnational city networks project, started in 2000/2001, examines the new forms of governance that have emerged beyond the concept of the nation state. The project focuses on the structure and function of transnational city networks in Europe; it looks for the reasons underlying the emergence of specific network organizations and it assesses their problem-solving capacities. Do transnational city networks represent a real alternative to other forms of governance? What significance do they have for policy learning? In what relationship do they stand to national-level institutions? What role does the European Union (EU) play in the building up of such networks?

Transnational city networks are a relatively new phenomenon in Europe. Most of them have emerged since the 1980s and they are distinctly different from the traditional forms of interest representation of local authorities in the EU. Members of the networks are the cities themselves and not national associations. Examples of such networks are the Union of the Baltic Cities, comprising over 100 cities in the Baltic Region, the Alliance in the Alps (Allianz in den Alpen), comprising approximately 140 communities throughout the Alpine Region, and the Eurocities network, comprising over 100 cities with more than 250,000 inhabitants in 26 European countries. Characteristic of such networks is, first, autonomy of their member cities who may join or leave the group at their own discretion; second, as a rule, the networks are polycentric, horizontal, and not hierarchical; third, these networks form the basis for decentralized cooperation among their member cities. This project investigates, principally, transnational city networks, because they exhibit high degrees of institutionalization and internal differentiation. In addition, meta-networks are examined because of their particular significance for the study.

The starting point of analysis is the examination of three parallel tendencies. First of all, tasks are already increasingly (re)assigned to existing international and supranational institutions. In addition, scores of new European-level and international-level institutions have sprung up in recent years, among which transnational city networks must be counted. Second, sub-national level entities like regions and cities, in conjunction with new governance forms that go beyond the nation-state concept, have taken on increasing significance. In recent years many European countries have exercised devolution of authority and strengthened local-level capacities. Third, many tasks heretofore falling under the authority of national governments have been transferred from state institutions to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private institutions, and transnational city networks. National authority has therefore diffused in three directions: upwards to transnational and supranational organizations, laterally to NGOs and other non-state organizations, and downwards to sub-national actors. The institutionalization of transnational networks of cities and local authorities in Europe mirrors this development in all three directions. Through the emergence of transnational city networks, institutional arrangements shift to European or international level. Tangential to this run local level developments: the transnational networking of cities thus connects the local level directly to the global level ("glocal governance"). Finally, the processes of change are evidenced on the national level because transnational city networks cooperate increasingly with national-level institutions on joint projects. This project focuses on four main issues that concern the "internal governance" as well as "external relations" of transnational networks.
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  1. Governance and performance of transnational city networks

Transnational city networks have their own resources: that is, as a rule, they have their own office staffed with their own personnel, funded from their own financial assets. Membership in the network is formal: the members support the organization with membership fees; the organization can make decisions that are binding for all members. Considering this, the question can be raised as to what functional equivalents to the sanction mechanisms of hierarchical organizations have been developed within such networks. Increasingly, competition and benchmarking strategies have become decisive for the performance of networks. Many networks follow a definite chronological sequence of development for gauging performance: first, they build up databases on "best practice"; following that, they hold quality competitions; finally, they establish indicators which permit the systematic comparison of performance of the individual member cities.

2. Competition and cooperation between transnational city networks

A further characteristic of transnational city networks is the competition and cooperation between the different networks. Transnational city networks compete for members as well as for resources. The dynamics of these networks depends upon the strategies their organizations choose to follow. They may opt between growth strategies (obtaining as many members as possible) and stabilization strategies (obtaining a definite number of members and keeping this number constant or near constant). Cooperation among and coordination of networks is often steered via meta-networks. For instance, the European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign (ESCTC), to which some 1300 European cities, local authorities and regions already belong, became the focal point for cooperation and coordination with 10 European and international city networks. The ESCTC thus represents a new form of European network governance and acts as a kind of umbrella organization for the European and international city networks with which it deals.

3. Nation-state institutions and transnational city networks

Transnational city networks transgress national borders. This does not mean, however, that national factors have become meaningless. To the contrary, national concerns and dynamics affect transnational city networks; here the type of relationship to the national structures and the form of transnational governance are decisive for the networks. Networks like the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) can opt for several different paths: for instance, they may try to involve already existing national-level associations of cities, or they may create national-level coordinating bodies like the Climate Alliance (Klima-Bündnis). In some cases, the growth of a transnational network can be accelerated as a result of national programs that selectively target its members. The Alliance in the Alps is one such example. Nation-states thus contribute to the creation of a transnational-level that is essentially beyond their own control. Nevertheless, the build-up of national-level support structures, especially for small communities, has been of decisive importance for the success of the transnational city networks. In general, the larger cities form the bulk of the active membership in the transnational city networks, whereas smaller cities and local authorities are overwhelmingly oriented towards national-level structures.

4. European governance and transnational city networks

Finally there is the question of interdependencies between the city networks, the nation-states and the EU. Developments up to now have clearly shown that the "transnationalization" of city politics and policies has often been influenced, if not initiated, by the EU. Particularly favorable to transnational network development have been those EU initiatives that aim for stronger decentralization of policy, that promote the integration of the civil society into the decision-making processes, and that aim to improve direct relationships to existing city networks. The European Commission does not limit itself, however, to already existing structures when it devises its programs; rather, it functions as a network builder, spinning the twines between the nodes. The EU promotes cooperation among the networks, especially through the creation of and lending institutional support to meta-networks. Further, the observable tendency among many countries to shift governmental and social tasks from the national level to local or regional levels has had significant impact on network development. In addition, the direct connection between the EU and the cities not only bypasses the route from national to EU level, it also indirectly influences and can even change the hierarchical relationship between the nation-states and their cities. Thus, there is indeed strong evidence that a new model of European governance has emerged.

Transnational city networks are just one example for new, "glocal" governance forms beyond the concept of the nation-state. The transnational city networks project serves to provide a more exact analysis of internal and external factors influencing such networks, that is, to show how such explanatory factors determine the performance of transnational network organizations. Beyond that, the project will analyze the state of tension between transnational and national forms of governance: the spectrum here ranges from the re-nationalization of transnational networks to the transnationalization of national-level programs. Finally, the project is concerned with a widely neglected phenomenon that appears to be growing in significance, namely, the establishment of a new model of European governance.
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  Members of the Working Group

> Kristine Kern
> Stefan Niederhafner
 
  Publications  
  Kern, Kristine und Tina Löffelsend 2004: Sustainable Development in the Baltic Sea Region. Governance Beyond the Nation State, Local Environment 9 (2004) (in print).

Kern, Kristine 2003: Vereint macht stark. Noch ist der Einfluss der Städte und Gemeinden im EU-System nicht groß. Aber kommunale Kooperationen über die Grenzen hinweg sind die Basis für Veränderungen, in: >PRO POLIS 21, Mai 2003, S. 11.

Bulkeley Harriet, Anna Davies, Bob Evans, David Gibbs, Kristine Kern und Kate Theobald 2003: Environmental Governance and Transnational Municipal Networks in Europe, Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning 5(3): 235-254.

Dorsch, Pamela 2003: Nationale und transnationale Vernetzung polnischer Städte und Regionen. Auf dem Weg zu einer nachhaltigen Stadt und Regionalentwicklung, Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Discussion Paper SP IV 2003-106, 89 S.

Behringer, Jeannette 2003: Nationale und transnationale Städtenetzwerke in der Alpenregion, Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Discussion Paper SP IV 2003-104, 49 S.

Kern, Kristine 2002: Diffusion nachhaltiger Politikmuster, transnationale Netzwerke und "glokale" Governance, in: Karl-Werner Brand (Hrsg.), Politik der Nachhaltigkeit. Voraussetzungen, Probleme und Chancen - eine kritische Diskussion, Berlin: edition sigma, S. 193-210.

Kern, Kristine und Alexander Wegener 2002: Institutionelle Innovationen deutscher Kommunen zwischen lokaler und europäischer Governance, in: Jens Libbe, Stephan Tomerius und Jan Trapp (Hrsg.), Liberalisierung und Privatisierung kommunaler Aufgabenerfüllung. Soziale und umweltpolitische Perspektiven im Zeichen des Wettbewerbs, Berlin: Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik (Difu-Beiträge zur Stadtforschung 37), S. 221-238.

Kern, Kristine 2001: Transnationale Städtenetzwerke in Europa, in: Eckhard Schröter (Hrsg.), Empirische Policy- und Verwaltungsforschung. Lokale, nationale und internationale Perspektiven, Opladen: Leske + Budrich, S. 95-116.

Kern, Kristine 2001: Transnational City Networking in Europe, Paper Prepared for the 2001 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change "Global Environmental Change and the Nation State", Berlin, 7-8 December 2001.		  

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Last change: 2005-03-22 13:36