LIST OF PANELS

Multilevel governance is the result of a process in which decision makers shifted competencies away from the nation-state in order to deal with pressing policy challenges that exceed the reach of the central government. As such, multilevel governance is a result of globalization and modernization, based on the assumption of an improved problem-solving capacity. Problem-solving can both be seen as a decision-making mode/process, and as a result of these processes. Trein et al. (2019) define problem-solving as a process through which the policymakers in charge make policies so as to deal with problems that are perceived as important for society by organized groups and/or by policymakers themselves, through the cooperative production of a policy output that is expected to be collectively beneficial in making a contribution to solve the policy problem at stake. The goal of this panel is to collect contributions that provide theoretical and empirical insights on problem-solving in multilevel governance.

Recent years have witnessed important theoretical, conceptual and empirical innovations in how we think of problem-solving in multilevel governance. Scholars have moved beyond traditional approaches to thinking of multilevel governance mainly in structural terms and through a command-and-control perspective, as these often cannot explain the distinct workings of multilevel governance in the absence of a clear “shadow of hierarchy”. Moreover, there is a move beyond the assumption that policy adoption is the decisive stage of problem-solving. Instead, there is emphasis on the processes of implementation, evaluation, and problem definition, the patterns and underlying mechanisms of differentiation as well convergence. Scholars increasingly emphasize mechanisms of learning (Dunlop et al. 2018) and experimentalist governance (Sabel and Zeiltin 2010) and link such mechanisms with patterns of policy differentiation (e.g., customization), success, and failure (Dunlop 2017; Thomannn 2019).

References

Dunlop, C. A. (2017). Policy learning and policy failure: Definitions, dimensions and intersections. Policy & Politics, 45(1), 3-18.

Dunlop, C. A., Radaelli, C. M., & Trein, P. (Eds.). (2018). Learning in Public Policy: Analysis, Modes and Outcomes. Springer.

Sabel, C. F., & Zeitlin, J. (Eds.). (2010). Experimentalist governance in the European Union: towards a new architecture. Oxford University Press on Demand.

Trein, P., Thomann, E. & M. Maggetti (2019). Integration, functional differentiation and problem-solving in multilevel governance: a comparative perspective. Symposium in Public Administration.

Thomann, E. (2019). Customized implementation of European Union food safety policy: United in diversity? Palgrave Macmillan, International Series on Public Policy.

This panel gathers theoretical, conceptual, and empirical contributions by both junior and senior scholars that look at the processes and outcomes of problem-solving and learning in multilevel governance systems in terms of both convergence and differentiation. We particularly invite contributions that either comprehensively review or systematize the state of the art, apply theoretical, conceptual or methodological innovations to empirical settings,  connect methods with theories, and/or contribute to innovation themselves.

Preference is given to papers that:

• apply or contribute to the recent theoretical state of the art
• are theoretically, conceptually or empirically innovative
• adopt a comparative logic/ identify regularities beyond a single case
• connect different stages or outcomes of the policy process with each other (beyond policymaking)
• consider the interplay of political, administrative, and societal actors or of different levels of governance
• give insight into the functioning of multilevel governance (e.g., European integration) in times of crisis

Abstracts should include a clear puzzle, research question, and an outline of the approach, research design and main contribution of the proposed paper. Preference is given to abstracts that demonstrate an understanding of recent theoretical and conceptual developments.