Local Governance and Intermunicipal Cooperation

Territory and scale have been some of the most relevant topics in recent political science, but do we know enough about cooperation between local governments? How we think about local government has changed significantly and requires us to be equipped with new epistemological gear, considering more variables and social functions of local government than before. For instance, is inter-municipal cooperation a special arrangement? The answer is certainly positive, not as a consequence of its nature when compared to other alternatives of policy coordination and service delivery, but because it captures almost every facet of the complexity of contemporary territorial governance. Bringing relevant case-studies, previous research, and available literature together, this book will help researchers, students and practitioners with these ideas. The author provides comprehensive information about inter-municipal cooperation and identifies the main gaps in contemporary research.

1. Local Governments Working Together: Relevance and Motivations
2. Diversity in Inter-municipal Arrangements: Nature, Theory and Citizens
3. In Search for Efficiency in Local Governance: Size and Alternatives
4. Rescaling Governance in European Reforms
5. An Illustration: the Portuguese Case
6. Inter-Municipal Cooperation: Present Limitations and Future Developments

Filipe Teles is Assistant Professor at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, where he teaches courses in the fields of Public Policy and Political Science. He holds a PhD in Political Science and has developed research work on local governance, public administration, territorial reforms and political leadership.