Tailored polities in the shadow of the state's hierarchy. The CLLD implementation and a future research agenda. Issue 4 (3rd April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Servillo, Loris
• Is Part Of: European planning studies. Volume 27:Issue 4(2019)
• Page Start: 678
• Page End: 698
• Publication Date: 2019-04-03
• Subjects: CLLD -- meta-governance -- local development -- institutional technology -- spatial imaginary -- spatial-temporal fix; Regional planning -- Europe -- Periodicals; Regional planning -- Periodicals; 307.76094
• DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2019.1569595
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0965-4313

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The paper provides a theoretical contribution to the multi-level governance debate, discussing the role of the policy instruments in tailoring polities for local development strategies. To this purpose, it examines the Community-Led Local Development (CLLD), a policy tool of the EU Cohesion Policy 2014–2020, which has generated more than 3000 local initiatives across the EU. An institutionalist perspective enables a reflection on the multi-level normative dimensions of these local initiatives. A combination of the post-functionalist governance theory, the soft space debate, state-theory and strategic-relational approach provides an interpretative framework to be deployed for a dedicated research agenda. The interpretative challenge is about whether the CLLD enables spatial-temporal fixes in which a deliberative polity pursues a spatial imaginary for an ad-hoc territory. The consequent analytical dimensions can be found in (a) the relationship between attendant ad-hoc polity, policy agenda, territorial design and societal processes; and (b) the meta-governance dimensions that locate the bottom-up constituency of this institutional technology in the shadow of state's hierarchy. An overview of the CLLD implementation across the EU provides evidence on the latter.