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Localism and the Design of Political Systems Localism and the Design of Political Systems This book examines localism as a political idea and policy approach and explains what localism is about, why it is growing in importance and how it relates to other themes in politics. Illustrated with case studies from the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and the Indian sub-continent, the book analyses localism in conceptual and theoretical terms and locates it within the overall landscape of political thought. Key themes covered in the book include place, space and scale; decentralization and devolution; multi-level governance; public value; democracy and empowerment; and political design. With the focus on the bottom-up, constructivist aspects of localism, the book argues that localism is most likely to work successfully in a political order where sovereignty is ‘distributed’ across various social spheres and levels of government. It offers a comprehensive view of localism by synthesizing its various strands and creating a distinctive framework for design and evaluation. This book will be of particular interest to scholars, students and practitioners of localism, particularly within local and regional government, public administration and policy, human and political geography, and urban studies. Rick Harmes is a former teacher and local government officer. He is currently Associate Research Fellow in Politics at the University of Exeter, UK. Routledge Studies in Governance and Public Policy Hybrid Public Policy Innovations Contemporary Policy Beyond Ideology Edited by Mark Fabian and Robert Breunig Semiotic Analysis and Public Policy Connecting Theory and Practice Christopher L. Atkinson International Health Worker Migration and Recruitment Global Governance, Politics and Policy Nicola Yeates and Jane Pillinger Challenges to Political Decision-making Dealing with Information Overload, Ignorance and Contested Knowledge Hubert Heinelt Public Enterprise and Local Place New Perspectives on Theory and Practice John Fenwick and Lorraine Johnston Public Administration in Central Europe Ideas as Causes of Reforms Edited by Stanisław Mazur Middle Class and Welfare State Making Sense of an Ambivalent Relationship Marlon Barbehön, Marilena Geugjes, and Michael Haus Localism and the Design of Political Systems Rick Harmes For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com Localism and the Design of Political Systems Rick Harmes First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Rick Harmes The right of Rick Harmes to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. With the exception of Chapter 8, no part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Chapter 8 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Harmes, Rick, author. Title: Localism and the design of political systems / Rick Harmes. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Series: Routledge studies in governance and public policy | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020037814 (print) | LCCN 2020037815 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367406011 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367810054 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Local government—Cross-cultural studies. | Political planning—Cross-cultural studies. Classification: LCC JS78 .H266 2021 (print) | LCC JS78 (ebook) | DDC 320.8—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037814 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037815 ISBN: 978-0-367-40601-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-81005-4 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC For Sue Contents List of figures ix Foreword and acknowledgements x List of key abbreviations xii 1 Introducing localism 1 Localism: a political doctrine for our times? 1 Questions and aims 1 Key themes and paradigms covered in this book 2 Structure of the book 3 Organizing perspectives 4 2 Analysing localism 6 The polycentric world order 6 In search of localism: mapping the intellectual and conceptual landscape 6 Conceptual analysis of localism 11 The localist turn: geography, environmentalism, politics 12 Analysing social and political organization 14 Three dynamics of localism 16 3 Localism in context 22 Place, space and scale: core dimensions of social and political organization 22 Communities of place and their governance 24 The nation state and the limits of government 25 The international relations system and the size of states 27 The global and the local 29 Multi-level governance, empires and political orders 31 Political community, public goods and sovereignty 35 Localism and sovereignty in conflict: the case of Catalonia and Spain 37 viii Contents 4 Varieties of localism 54 ‘Old localism’: established local governance 54 Neighbourhood governance 56 Governance at the micro level: pathologies and challenges 58 Governing locally in a polycentric world: towards a ‘new’ localism? 62 Trans-localism and the upward-shaping potential of the local 64 Localism in flux: Cornwall, England, UK 66 5 Localism and public value 96 On public goods and public value 96 Core domains of public value 98 Localism and democracy 100 Localism and human wellbeing 103 Localism and environmental sustainability 108 Joining up the domains of public value 113 Territorial cohesion within political systems: the case of the European Union 115 6 Designing for localism and multi-level governance 128 Institutions, political systems and their design 128 Principles for institutional and system design 132 Design trends in national, regional and local governance 135 Visionary localism: the case of India and Kerala 137 7 Local outcomes 163 Policy evaluation and achieving public value 163 Towards a local outcomes framework 164 Evaluating local outcomes in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 166 Evaluating localism: Area Assessment in the UK and Cornwall, 2009–2010 169 8 Localism and political systems in the twenty-first century 173 The argument so far 173 The twenty-first-century design context 177 Designing political systems 179 In conclusion: ten propositions 184 Index 188 Figures 3.1 Political map of Spain, showing the location of Catalonia and the other autonomous communities 38 4.1 Outline map of Great Britain, with Cornwall highlighted 67 4.2 Map of Cornwall showing Cornwall Council’s 19 Community Network Areas and the county’s main towns 69 6.1 Political map of India, showing the location of Kerala 143 6.2 Administrative map of Kerala, showing the state’s 14 districts 145 Foreword and acknowledgements Localism and the Design of Political Systems is my first published book, and it represents nearly 50 years of work experience and academic research. My interest in localism was kindled by a professional career in public services in the UK and Europe, including more than 25 years in English local government. As a teacher, and then as a council manager, I was routinely expected to carry out whatever government policy for my sector happened to be at the time. This was challenging and sometimes frustrating, especially as government policy changed frequently between 1980 and 2008. However, I often had the satisfaction of help- ing to devise a local or community response to a pressing service issue, or of helping to shape a policy which all the main political parties locally had discussed and were fully agreed on. More recently, as an academic researcher, I have become particularly interested in the mechanisms by which public policy may be created and driven from the bottom-up, as well as from the top-down. Whatever the source of a particular policy initiative, its implementation has to take place at the individual, commu- nity or local level. So it is with that level that my commitment as a researcher continues to lie. The recent turn to localism speaks to a range of contemporary concerns around governance, policy and theory. As a foundational concept within politics, localism can be approached in a variety of ways. I hope that some of that diversity will be reflected in the account set out in this book. At the outset, I would like to acknowledge some of the key people and organi- zations who have supported me with this research project over the past decade. Firstly, the many academic staff, visiting presenters and students I have come into contact with at the University of Exeter since 2008, and the intellectual stimu- lation I have received on a wide variety of academic topics during the course of my research. In particular, I want to acknowledge the academic colleagues with whom I have worked most closely during the gestation of this project, includ- ing Stephen Wilks, Michael Winter, Dario Castiglione and members of Exeter’s Political Theory Reading Group, Oli James, and my two PhD supervisors Andrew Massey and Duncan Russel. Secondly, I want to record my thanks to the councillors, officers and staff at Cornwall Council for the help they have given me over more than a decade of Foreword and acknowledgements xi carrying out longitudinal research on their organization. I have received nothing but total support from everyone I have dealt with at the council. My particular thanks go to Rob Andrew and to all his colleagues, past and present, working in Cornwall’s localism services.
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