LIST OF PANELS

We are living in an era of "Black Swans" and mega-crises (Ansell and Boin, 2019), where old and new threats emerge from climate change, pandemics, interstate conflicts, technological advancements, and human behaviour. While these threats originate from different places, their consequences are most profoundly felt at the local level. Transboundary crises – (perceived) threats that cross multiple jurisdictions, policy sectors, and timeframes, and demand urgent action (Ansell et al. 2010) – exacerbate existing challenges, as they intersect with ongoing economic, environmental, and political issues that cities, towns, and regions already face. These overlapping crises vary in duration, scale, and depth, compounding the difficulties for local actors who are tasked with managing their impact on local residents. For instance, the recent Covid-19 pandemic is a good example of a crisis that affected multiple jurisdictions, spilled over into policy sectors beyond public health and had a clear start but an unclear end (Ansell et al. 2020). Its presence starkly revealed vulnerabilities at the local level, with communities bearing the brunt of the crisis. However, it also highlighted the crucial role of local actors in navigating these complex situations.

State and non-state actors in municipalities and regions may mobilize resources, foster cooperation, and adapt to rapidly shifting circumstances to manage, mitigate and prevent the impact of crises. A failure to do so can expose further vulnerabilities when local actors lack the capacity to respond. Looking at the local level underscores the critical importance of local governance and its capacity to respond effectively to immediate and long-term threats.

Our panel goes to the heart of the nexus between local governance and crisis management by exploring policy efforts that transcend the boundaries of the nation-state. Research from multiple approaches has precisely overlooked the extent to which local actors may contribute to managing, mitigating or preventing the implications of complex crises on local residents. Therefore, the panel builds on the different aspects of governance at the local level to study responses to threats faced by local societies. Substantively, we are interested in theoretical and empirical contributions uncovering the strategies, partnerships and governance structures that local actors develop to make local systems resilient in the quest of responding to a world full of interconnected and globalized threats. We are also interested in unravelling how local actors make sense of crises, learn from them and offer responses.

We invite papers that broadly address the questions of to what extent, how and why local actors contribute to managing, mitigating or preventing the impact of transboundary crises on local residents. Specific questions that contributions might address include: how are global threats reshaping the role of the local level in developing policy responses? Which actors and networks are involved in formulating and implementing these local responses within and beyond local boundaries? Are local responses strengthening in particular policy areas, and weakening in others? Is there variation across time? To what extent crises are promoting resilience in local settings? How transboundary threats foster policy learning across actors located at the local level? How can local governments promote cooperation across scales of governance?  What lessons can be drawn from local level actors responding to crises? To what extent collaboration emerges locally in times of crisis? Submissions may include case studies, comparative approaches, experiments, or theoretical discussions. The proposed panel embraces a plurality of theories and methods, welcoming both theoretical and empirical papers, whether descriptive or explanatory. Comparative papers that address research questions across time, local settings located in different world regions, state (including municipal or regional governments), and/or non-state actors, or areas of public policy are particularly encouraged.