Unions of the mind: the UK as a subjective state

Henderson, Ailsa; Jones, Richard Wyn

doi:10.1057/s41295-020-00231-4

Cited by 1 publication

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References 52 publications

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“…Regarding the third question, the relationship between attitudes towards (vertical) local autonomy and (horizontal) inter-local cooperation, no studies exist so far to the best of our knowledge (but see Henderson and Wyn Jones 2021). Yet, the answer to this question is of high relevance to better understand the public legitimacy of vertical and horizontal reforms in local government systems.…”

Section: Attitudes Towards Local Autonomy and Inter-local Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizens’ attitudes towards local autonomy and inter-local cooperation: evidence from Western Europe

Strebel

Kübler

2021

Comp Eur Polit

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Recent decades have seen a strengthening of local autonomy in many European states. At the same time, local governance capacities were strengthened through intermunicipal structures and territorial consolidation to prepare local authorities for additional tasks. In this paper, we assess what citizens think about strengthening local autonomy and strengthening inter-local cooperation. We argue that citizens’ attitudes towards local autonomy and inter-local cooperation are a function of their behavioural, emotional and ideological connection to the local. Using data from a population-based survey in eight West European metropolitan areas in France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, we show that local autonomy and inter-local cooperation supporters have divergent ideological positions concerning the allocation of political authority across state scales. Inter-local cooperation is supported by voters of new progressive left parties but opposed by right-wing nationalist partisans—who in contrast favour local autonomy. This suggests that the demarcation–integration divide which structures citizens’ attitudes towards international integration also matters for subnational and local governance reforms.

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Section: Attitudes Towards Local Autonomy and Inter-local Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 99%