Search

International audience

International audience

International audience

The notion of autonomy has become central for considering the articulation between democracy, public policies and local development. The present report questions the possible link between local autonomy and spatial justice. It synthesises the research conducted in the framework of RELOCAL Work Package (WP) 7, investigating “how different degrees of regional autonomy can affect the outcomes and future perspectives of spatial justice as a cohesion objective” (Grant Agreement RELOCAL, p. 23). Our understanding of autonomy takes its roots in the reference definition provided by Clark (1984): the conjugation of two specific powers: “initiation and immunity” in local stakeholders’ hands. Adapted to the RELOCAL research interests, autonomy is the combination of the power of initiative, i.e. capacity of the locality to accomplish tasks serving its own interests and that of its population, and the power of immunity, i.e. the effective possibility for a local authority, to act without oversight by higher levels. These two faces of autonomy refer to the “two faces of democratic self-determination” as defined by Scharpf (1999): “government by the people” and “government for the people”. This definition of autonomy is operational and fruitful for exploring the power within the locality to initiate and to “immunise” actions pursuing greater spatial justice. In that sense, WP7’s understanding of autonomy is also critical, questioning whether autonomy allows localities to tackle spatial injustice. Firstly, our understanding of autonomy allowed us to investigate a paradox: even though local autonomy has increased all over Europe, local democracy (i.e. effective involvement of the local population in decision-making) has not increased. More locally driven forms of government of the (local development) action do not automatically produce more inclusive forms of participation in taking action and making decisions. Local development actions are structurally shaped by a dual project-based approach and a problem-solving approach. That constrains the way participation is conceived, run and effectively used. Participation with the local population is often understood as a legal constraint rather than as a leverage for building legitimate projects. The disconnection between the local development action and the local population before, during and after the action’s implementation takes different forms, varying between discrediting, oversight and symbolic manipulation. All those political strategies produce mainly frustration in the local population and tends to confirm the idea that “decentralisation is not more democratic because it supposedly would make the political decision closer to the citizen or because it would mechanically enhance proximity” (Desage and Guéranger, 2018). Secondly, the report sheds lights on how the increased level of local autonomy is used by localities. The general progress of autonomy is visible at the local level in most of the European countries. A closer look demonstrates that the capacity of localities to organise themselves depends to a large extent on the competence of their leaders (e.g. dynamism, openness, capacity to implement adequate measures given the circumstances). Leadership skills nowadays tend to involve proactivity and adaptability to change, rather than commanding. The legitimacy of local institutions to act appears to be embedded in proximity, openness and transparency. Despite waves of decentralisation, the report demonstrates that rising responsibilities have rarely come with financial means and, in some situations, without a clear mandate to act. Also, in some cases, decentralisation can be reversed by state-led initiatives, or it is often incomplete. This confusion on responsibilities partly explains the weakness of solutions to local issues. Thirdly, several case study reports demonstrate that the integration of civil society organisations in the decision-making process is not an achievement per se, as it definitely raises a democracy issue. This transfer of responsibility should not come without a certain guarantee that they would not use the action only or mainly for their own benefit. The delegation of (some) public services to local associations and NGOs should come with obligations and commitments that they serve the “general interest” or the “common good” in the same way that local authorities are supposed to. Dedicated research would be necessary to address the circumstances of the outsourcing to the third sector. Fourthly and substantially, certain marginal and peripheral territories cannot simply be abandoned, as their very situation does not allow them to face their problems alone and requires distributive justice at a larger (national and continental and probably global) scale. Finally, participation should be understood as a way of fuelling actions of local development with place knowledge. Recognising place knowledge (sometimes named vernacular or inhabitant knowledge) in complementarity to other forms of knowledge (e.g. expert, scientific) and giving it the right to be represented in decision-making processes through adequate participation processes would allow a rethinking and reframing of the notion of legitimacy (and transparency) of local development strategy. This understanding of place knowledge that invites a reconsideration of participation (i.e. not merely as a top-down information move, but rather as a horizontal partnership in the process of action) contributes effectively to feeding into the input legitimisation (“government by the people”). It reinforces the legitimacy of the decision-making process and therefore the output legitimation (“government for the people”).

Background The Pas-de-Calais mining basin is a predominantly urban conurbation of approximately 650,000 inhabitants, situated in the North of France, about 35 km south of Lille and at a reasonable distance of Paris, London and Brussels. The territory have been facing since the end of the mining activity in the 1980s an alarming socio-economic situation, ranked last in France for most of the indicators. Against this background, local and regional actors have created in 2009 a local association, Euralens, in order to use the implementation of the antenna of the Louvre in Lens as a catalyst for territorial development. The association has today two main missions: to prepare and to facilitate the emergence of a metropolis institution; to foster local development by supporting innovative local initiatives through a label process. Findings Created in 2009 at the regional level, Euralens is neither a classical (in France) top-down State intervention nor a genuine bottom-up local initiative. The association has taken a rising importance in the organisation of the territory, favouring the cooperation between local authorities, but also between institutional stakeholders at different levels, the civil society and private actors. Doing so, it gives the Pas-de-Calais mining basin a clearer and louder voice. The recent creation of a specific state policy towards the Mining Basin is a good example of such an assertion and demonstrates the clear redistributive impact of Euralens for the benefit of the locality in the national space. On the question of the distribu-tion of territorial engineering, another accomplishment of Euralens is its the capacity to mobilise external national and international expertise to imagine with local stakeholders policies supporting social and territorial development. Outlook However, the effort seems still insufficient over time. The enormous environmental impact of mining activity as well as the deep social impact of the collapse of this activity have let the territory dry. Albeit positive, the action of Euralens is relatively modest in comparison to the extent of the needs. At the social level in particular, the rebuilding of individuals trust is a long-term policy that deserves more attention. Too often, Euralens disregard the social and the procedural dimensions of injustice. It does not pay sufficient attention to the integration of the civil society to the decision-making in a time of democratic crisis. Yet, symbols, power balance, transparency should be cornerstones of Euralens action in the territory in order to better exemplify change in the locality. Joensuu: University of Eastern Finland

International audience

International audience

The editors of this special issue are part of the H2020 2016-2020 research project RELOCAL: "Resituating the local in cohesion and territorial development". This project is concerned with the achievements and impacts of local and regional development throughout Europe. It explores the local effects of such development processes-in particular, how they might mitigate disadvantaged local areas and contribute to reducing disparities between places. The RELOCAL project draws on 33 case studies of local contexts across Europe. Fragments of empirical analysis underlie the research of several papers presented in this issue. As this project brings together a number of researchers from all over Europe, spread across 14 research institutions, it is an opportunity to reflect upon how each team and individual researcher relates the notion of spatial justice to their respective country and how, while doing their field work, their own understanding of this notion has evolved. Using the opportunity of a consortium meeting in Łódź, Poland, (5-6 March 2019), there has been bilateral exchange with some of the researchers. The following text is a short extract of this discussion1., Cet espace public de JSSJ est dirigé par les membres du programme de recherche H2020 2016-2020 RELOCAL – Resituer le local dans la cohésion et le développement territorial. Ce programme s’intéresse aux apports et aux impacts du développement local et régional en Europe, et explore les effets des processus de développement au niveau local. Comment contribuent-ils en particulier à atténuer les difficultés que rencontrent ces territoires et à réduire les disparités entre les lieux ? RELOCAL s’appuie sur 33 études de cas portant sur des contextes locaux en Europe. Des fragments d’analyse empirique étayent une partie des recherches présentées dans les articles de ce numéro. Ce programme, qui réunit un ensemble de chercheurs disséminés à travers quatorze institutions de recherche européennes, nous donne ici l’occasion de saisir comment équipes et chercheurs se sont emparés de la notion de justice spatiale dans leurs pays respectifs, et comment leur compréhension de cette notion a évolué au fil du terrain. Nous avons pris prétexte d’une réunion du consortium à Łódź, en Pologne (5-6 mars 2019) pour engager un échange bilatéral avec plusieurs chercheurs du programme. Le texte qui suit présente un bref extrait de cette discussion.

In France, spatial injustice is usually described as disadvantages related to place that result in the feeling that the local population is left out or unable to shape the locality’s own future. It contrasts with a strong tradition of “égalité des territoires” (“equality between territories”) which shapes the spatial planning policy. Two contrasted case studies have been selected for the RELOCAL project in France. Located in peri-urban post-industrial contexts, they both need to reopen the path towards local development. The EPA Alzette-Belval (Lorraine) is a top-down initiative established through an on-site technical implementation, while Euralens is a more bottom-up, autonomous association in the Nord mining basin. Spatial injustices existed in both localities, and there were a number of similarities (e.g. access to and financing of public services, fair and equitable access to decision-making processes). The national context goes beyond the individual findings for each case, to reflect on their significance in a national context shaped by successive waves of decentralisation and the recent launch of nationally led thematic initiatives to support local development. We found that Euralens and the EPA Alzette-Belval make a direct contribution to greater spatial justice. The EPA Alzette-Belval specifically targets distributive justice, while Euralens targets procedural justice more. These two actions demonstrate that despite decentralisation, the state remains crucial in France. Like the place-based approach promoted at the EU level, France encourages localities to build up their own initiatives to foster local development, while the state provides timely support through dedicated schemes (e.g. ERBM, ÉcoCité, EPA à la française). In this context, regions facing steep challenges (e.g. economic regeneration following the fall of single industries, asymmetric border exchanges and interdependencies) are overwhelmed by the task of effectively mobilising the national tools at their disposal and initiating local development on their own. Nationally led instruments therefore need to be adapted to local geographic, political and social specificities in order to be capable of deploying their full impact. It therefore seems important – especially in a unitary country like France – to keep monitoring spatial disparities and social inequalities, have dedicated channels for territories to bring forward their respective problems, and as a consequence to keep redistributive measures that can be mobilised to address the deepest territorial divides. Too often, potential beneficiaries of EU funding do not apply (i.e. due to the administrative burden, lack of information). Access to EU regional policy should be more open, simpler and based more on impact (including qualitative and quantitative indicators). Open European satellites with dedicated agents in territories facing structural challenges could contribute by enabling these regions and giving “Brussels” a more human and less bureaucratic face.

International audience; Appel à contributions : La recherche, objet de recherche : à propos de la réflexivité et de la distanciation critique » Titre Gymnastique épistémologique, critique et réflexive : la construction d'une recherche en « ex-Yougoslavie » face à la colonialité du savoir Abstract Cet article tente de retracer une histoire, celle de l'évolution de ma propre réflexivité durant le temps d'une thèse intitulée « Aménager les frontières des périphéries européennes. La frontière Serbie/Croatie à l'épreuve des injonctions à la coopération et à la réconciliation » (Blondel, 2016). Mon propos ici est de rendre compte d'une conviction, la nécessité de s'engager dans une démarche réflexive et critique avant, pendant et après la production de la recherche en elle-même. Cet article constitue ainsi une tentative de démonstration par l'exemple de l'intérêt d'une telle posture. Je vise d'une part à exposer comment j'ai construit mes réflexions épistémologiques, par une déconstruction progressive des cadres théoriques classiques (nationalistes, post-socialiste, post-yougoslave) choisis ou imposés. D'autre part, j'expose les aboutissements de cette réflexivité, i.e. principalement ma prise de conscience de la colonialité du savoir (et du mien en particulier). Cette gymnastique m'a permis de parfois dépasser, et de plus souvent rendre compte de, certaines limites de mon travail, mais aussi d'accepter l'indépassable lié à certains aspects de ma situation de recherche, de la manière dont je l'ai énoncée et conduite. Mener ce type d'exercice et en rendre compte contribuent alors à mieux préciser les conditions de validité scientifique de ses travaux, à mieux situer le propos et l'apport du chercheur, sa position et donc sa positionnalité. 2 Mots-clés Réflexivité, pensée décoloniale, épistémologie, nationalismes méthodologiques, post-socialisme, post-yougoslave Abstract in English This article is a story, narrating the evolution of my own reflections during my PhD

The European Union pre-accession policy urges the Western Balkans countries to cooperate and reconcile before considering joining the European Union. The cross-border co-operation component of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance is the only tool by which the EU concretely supports these injunctions. In this way, it appoints cross border areas as privileged places of reconciliation and the planning project as the tool to achieve this objective. This thesis aims to examine these two presumptions. Field work conducted at the border between Serbia and Croatia, showed that the European cross border cooperation programme enabled concerned ministries to get closer and that the local projects contributed to a “niche reconciliation” between a few local stakeholders. Nevertheless, it does not extend beyond this basic core. In order to overcome this limit it appears necessary to rethink the enlargement policy for all parties involved in the process. Because therein lies the issue of community harmony in the European continent.; La politique de pré-adhésion de l’Union européenne enjoint les pays des Balkans occidentaux à coopérer et à se réconcilier avant d’envisager leur entrée dans l’Union. Le volet coopération transfrontalière de l’Instrument d’Aide pour la Pré-adhésion est l’instrument unique au travers duquel l’UE soutient concrètement ces injonctions. De la sorte, elle désigne les espaces frontaliers comme les lieux privilégiés des réconciliations et le projet d’aménagement transfrontalier comme l’instrument pour atteindre cet objectif. Cette thèse vise à interroger ces deux présupposés. A partir d’un travail de terrain mené à la frontière Serbie/Croatie, elle montre que le programme européen de coopération transfrontalière a permis le rapprochement des Ministères concernés et que les projets développés à la frontière ont contribué à une « réconciliation de niche » entre quelques acteurs locaux. Néanmoins, celle-ci ne s’étend pas au-delà de ce noyau de base. Pour dépasser cette limite, il apparaît nécessaire de repenser la politique d’élargissement pour toutes les parties associées à ce processus. Car c’est la question du vivre-ensemble à l’échelle du continent européen qui se pose.

International audience

International audience

International audience