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The floating meso in Hungary
Ilona Pálné Kovács, László KákaiUniversity of Pécs, CERS, HAS
World congress of IPSA, Montreal, 2014.
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Aim of the paper
Explaining failures of reforms of meso level governance in Hungary by
• introducing the reform processes implemented (mostly) from the systemic change in 1990
• analysing networks at meso level• contrasting the top down and bottom up regionalism
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Theoretical backgrounds
• Rescaling (territorial choice)- changes both in the content and the scale (Gualini, 2006, Baldersheim-Rose, 2010)
• Power shifts: jumping of power among levels and actors (Swyngedouw, 2000)
• Europeanisation, conditionalism (Hughes, Sasse and Gordon, 2004)
• New regionalism (Keating, 2004)+ social capital (Putnam, 1993, 2000)
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sHistorical context in Hungary
(path dependency)
• Strong and long (1000 years) traditions of centralization
• The meso (county) was always dominant territorial level mostly as an agent of the central government
• Self governments, municipalities were not embedded enough into local socitey
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The story line after 1990
• Restructuring of the power modell (1990)
• Reform steps, rescaling or mapdrawing competition ( 1996, 1998, 2004)
• Jungle of geographical units
• 2010 total turn, meso belongs again to the centre „empty map”,
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Municipal and territorial units
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Contrasting the top down regionalisation and bottom up regionalism
Top down regionalisation: imitation, centralisation
• Motivation: absorption of EU money
• Missing consultation, transparency
• Administrative, formal logic• Lost cohesion, growing
polarisation
Bottom up regionalism: decentralisation
• Being interested in• Identity-building• Informal logic: territorial, local
networks• Social support (capital)
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MAR
Sapard
MNDC
Phare
PMO
TIR
NDC
ASC
Lab
Bank
RDC
Bcoun
Scoun
Tcoun
Tour
Bcham
ABC
Scham
Tcham
Univ Euinf
Indpark
Agency
Pecs
Kapos
Szeksz
Bmic
Smic
Tmic
Found
Networks in South Transdanubia(2003, SNA)
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s Minister, under-secretary
Ministerial middle manager
MP
President of County Assembly
Mayor of city of county rank
Mayor of settlement, notary
Member of local self-government
Member of county self-government
Leader of party at county level
Leader of party at city level
EP representative
Leader of civil organization
civil organization manager in higher education firm, enterprise media manager
politician regional development administrative organ self-government politician
0
Personal networks in the region, 2008Strength of connections (by activity area)
(index: 0 – weak, 100 – strong)
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sHow much influence of actors
(survey in 2012-2013)
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Further research questions
• The role of governance traditions and political values• Decentralisation at meso level: who’s interest?• Reform capacity, veto-players ( more enemies than friends)• It is a challenge to convince central government and even
local society of importance of the meso
The meso is almost always floating and needs more attention from political science as well
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Thank you for your attention and comments!
• Ilona Pálné Kovács: palne@rkk.hu• László Kákai: kakai.laszlo@pte.hu
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