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In Pursuit of Sustainable Development

New governance practices at the sub-national level in Europe

Edited by Susan Baker, Katarina Eckerberg

Published April 21st 2008 by Routledge – 256 pages

Series: Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science

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Description

The book explores how implementation strategies engage sub-national, regional and local actors in the promotion of sustainable development.

Following the obligations incurred at the Rio Earth Summit and the related UNCED process, European states began to produce sustainable development strategies in the 1990s. Implementation efforts are increasingly using ‘new’ governance arrangements, including:

  • use of public/private partnerships
  • new policy tools
  • policy transfer and benchmarking
  • policy networks and involvement of stakeholder groups and institutional capacity enhancement.

The editors, whom are leading experts on the subject, explore the nature, extent and characteristics of the new governance arrangements that have been put in place to implement sustainable development strategies and initiatives at the sub-national levels. They also examine the approaches that sub-national governments adopted towards the mobilization of ‘stakeholders’ in these initiatives and what type of non-governmental actors have become involved.

In Pursuit of Sustainable Development will be of interest to students and researchers of politics, development, geography, planning and social policy.

Contents

Part 1: Promoting Governance Capacity for Sustainable Development 1. National Sustainable Development Strategies in EU Member States 2. Economic Instruments and the Promotion of Sustainable Development 3. Institutional and Social Capacity Enhancement for Local Sustainable Development Part 2: Engaging in Governance for Sustainable Development 4. Institutional Capacities for Sustainable Development 5. Sub-National Sustainable Development Initiatives in Federal States in Germany 6. Rhetoric or Reality? 7. Governance Networks Promoting Rural Sustainable Development in Norway 8. New Interpretations of Local Governance for Sustainable Development in the Netherlands. Conclusion: Combining Old and New Governance in Pursuit of Sustainable Development

Author Bio

Susan Baker is Professor in Environmental Social Science at Cardiff School for Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK.

Katarina Eckerberg is Professor in Public Administration in the Department of Political Science, Umeå University and Deputy Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute.

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Name: In Pursuit of Sustainable Development: New governance practices at the sub-national level in Europe (Hardback) – Routledge 
Description: Edited by Susan Baker, Katarina Eckerberg. The book explores how implementation strategies engage sub-national, regional and local actors in the promotion of sustainable development. Following the obligations incurred at the Rio Earth Summit and the related UNCED process, European states began...
Categories: Development Studies, Political Geography, Politics & Development, Sustainable Development, Planning, Social Policy, Environmental Politics, Governance