The intermediate level of government in European States. Complexity versus democracy?

The intermediate level of government in European States. Complexity versus democracy?

The origins of this book go back to 1996 when Leon Aurdal started writing about the intermediate level of government and administration in a few European countries, carried out in his capacity as a temporary Norwegian observer at the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht. With a grant from the Secretariat General of the European Commission, it was decided to expand the study to cover all the Member States of the European Union as well as Norway. This book thus focuses on the regional governments, regional state administrations and municipal associations of sixteen European countries, analysing the relationship between these structures and the relationship between the intermediate level and the central and local levels. In doing this, the study primarily stresses the legal, political, administrative and economic dimensions. It further presents the current debate about the intermediate level of government in the different countries and special attention is given to whether European integration has dramatically altered this debate and/or led to any fundamental changes in how the intermediate level is organised and functions in the different countries. The resulting picture in the study is of an increasingly complex structure at intermediate level in many countries, as new units are often created while old ones remain. Furthermore, at present, in most countries, there is intense debate on how to organise and reform the intermediate level of administration with European integration influencing these debates and reform projects being triggered throughout Europe.

This book is also available in French.