Consolidation Policies in Federal States

Integration, functional differentiation and problem‐solving in multilevel governance

“…In harking back to the work of Kingdon (Kingdon ), on the one hand, and the contributions by Benz () and Scharpf (), on the other, Braun et al () adopt a broader perspective on problem‐solving. They distinguish a problem‐solving stream and a power stream to analyse the policy‐making dynamics of consolidation policies in federal states.…”

“…… The power stream has its own developmental logic, but it can be triggered by events in the problem‐solving stream. If actors’ interests are touched upon, the federal power stream is there to deal with this situation and to find a solution in order to avoid institutional instability.The authors conceive both streams as systems that seek to maintain the institutional stability of the political system—either by solving a policy problem or by ‘mediating interests between federal actors’ (Braun et al , p. 34). In this sense, problem‐solving is a logic of action in policy‐making that aims to deal with a policy problem, such as climate change, unemployment, or excessive public debt, to preserve political stability.…”

“…This mode was opposed to bargaining, where participating actors pursue above all their special interests (e.g., Scharpf , ; Benz ). In the wake of the euro crisis and its aftermath, problem‐solving reappeared more prominently on the public policy and political science research agendas (e.g., Lodge and Wegrich ; Falkner ; Braun et al ). However, until today, there is neither a unified understanding of problem‐solving nor an agreement on how the structural characteristics of multilevel governance systems affect problem‐solving.…”

Multilevel governance and problem‐solving: Towards a dynamic theory of multilevel policy‐making?

“…The goal of this article is to link problem‐solving and problem‐generating processes through institutional dynamics in multilevel systems and to contribute to developing multilevel governance from a heuristic notion towards a more systematic theory of policy‐making. In a recent comparative analysis of consolidation policies in federal states, Braun et al proposed distinguishing federal systems according to whether they are able to solve specific policy problems or not (Braun et al ). We use their insights to develop our argument about the problem‐solving and problem‐generating effects of MLG arrangements a bit further.…”

Constitutional Policy in Multilevel Government: The Art of Keeping the Balance. Benz, Arthur In collaboration with DominicHeinz, EikeHornig, AndreaFischer‐Hotzel, JörgKemmerzell, and BettinaPetersohn. Oxford, Oxford University Press (2016), 270 p., ISBN 978‐0‐19‐878607‐8

“…Scholars of federalism and multilevel governance have shown a long interest in the question of stability and instability (e.g., Bednar ; Braun et al. ; Filippov et al. ; Landau ; Riker ).…”