Empowering through regional funds? The impact of Europe on subnational governance in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT

This contribution offers an evaluation of subnational governance change in the Czech Republic in the context of a domestic response to Europeanization dynamics employing both the top-down and bottom-up approach. We do not find much evidence of a substantial empowerment of the regional level, but that the central government is still a gatekeeper. The regions have experienced both centralized and decentralized forms (temporal empowerment) of EU’s structural funds management. The effect of EU was not constant, but conditioned in time by the mediating factors such as domestic politics and administrative capacity. On the local level, the weak fragmented municipalities have taken advantage of the European opportunity structure and have thus empowered themselves. EU’s structural funds have accelerated intermunicipal cooperation. The partnership principle has become more embedded in regional policy, and some signs of multilevel governance (MLG) have emerged. As a result, the fragmented municipalities have become stronger partners with the state.

KEYWORDS:

• The Czech Republic
• regional policy
• multilevel governance
• Europeanization
• subnational government

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The statistical yearbook from 1989 listed 4120 Czech municipalities, in November 1994, 6130 municipalities (Illner 2010).

2 https://www.strukturalni-fondy.cz/en/Fondy-EU/Programy-2004-2006/Operacni-programy/SPOLECNY-REGIONALNI-OPERACNI-PROGRAM-(SROP) (Accessed 12 June 2017).

3 Figures obtained from the regional offices.

4 The email communication with the presidents of the Regional Offices (Jihočeský kraj, Ústecký kraj) 8 June 2017.

5 The association represents the collective voice of Czech regions. http://www.asociacekraju.cz/association-of-regions-of-the-czech-republic/ (Accessed 7 June 2017).

6 http://www.dvs.cz/clanek.asp?id=6373942 (Accessed 16 June 2017).

7 Based on the common template of Pawel Swianiewicz. The results are available in the SPSS data file from the authors.

8 Territorial Investments (ITI) and Integrated Plans for Territorial Development (IPTD).

9 http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/regiony/1506248-dotace-pro-obce-a-mala-mesta-sance-se-zasadne-snizuji (Accessed 21 June 2017).

10 https://www.starostove-nezavisli.cz/about (Accessed 15 June 2017).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Grantová Agentura České Republiky [grant number 16-01331S].