"A Theoretical Perspective on Multi-level Systems in Europe: Constitutional Power and Partisan Conflict"

types: ArticleThis article distinguishes three constitutionally defined categories of multi-level systems – confederations, federal arrangements and regionalized arrangements, which differ in whether their lower-level governments enjoy constitutional protection and whether we find a constitutional hierarchy between central and lower levels of government. We argue that the constitutional category a multi-level system belongs to systematically shapes first, the dominant mode of day-to-day intergovernmental coordination, second, the mode of formal competence (re)allocation; and third, the relative impact of party (in)congruence across central and lower-level governments on these coordination processes, respectively. The article then specifies the indicators used to test the hypotheses across the range of case studies. It finally shows how the multi-level systems covered in this special issue span the confederal – federal – regionalized spectrum and thus allow for an encompassing comparative assessment of multi-level dynamics and their long-term evolution.ESR

GoWPER

GoWPER project website, accessed 06/05/2019.[EN] The GoWPER research project primary objectives are to analyse the scope of the transformations in the governance of the Spanish welfare state (territorial and the welfare mix) during the last two decades. Particular attention is paid to the contemporary historical period of the financial crisis. The project aims to identify the political explanatory factors behind the transformations and the implications of such transformations on the citizens and the workforce in the sector of social policy and the public administration.[ES] El proyecto GoWPER tiene como propósito el análisis del alcance de los cambios en la gobernanza (territorial y del welfare-mix) del Estado de Bienestar en España en las dos últimas décadas, en particular durante el periodo de la crisis; la explicación de las dinámicas y factores políticos que han estado detrás de tales cambios; y las consecuencias de dichas transformaciones sobre los ciudadanos, los trabajadores del sector de las políticas sociales y las propias administraciones.Programa Nacional de Proyectos de Investigación Fundamental. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad.Peer reviewe