In this Introduction to the Special Issue we proceed as follows. In the first section we summerise the main positions in the current debate among political scientists on the notion of MLG. We try to place this notion in the broader context of existing theorisations on policymaking in multilevel political systems, in order to identify its specific traits vis-à-vis other neighbouring concepts such as IGR and federalism. The second section then provides a mapping of migration policy scholarly works explicitly adopting the interpretative lens of MLG, pointing out how this notion has been explicitly or, more often, implicitly conceptualised and applied to the study of specific policymaking processes. Against this background, the third section presents the contributions to this Special Issue and shows how they collectively contribute to illuminating parts of a broader puzzle which is the theorisation of migration policy in multilevel states by adopting either different conceptualisations of MLG or moving in a different, yet very closed, semantic and conceptual field which is that of IGR. Against this background, in the final section we elaborate on the steps needed in order to move forward the research agenda. Whereas the current debate on MLG in political science seems to be stuck around issues of conceptual definition, debates among migration policy scholars run often the risk of using the MLG label in an unthoughtful manner, adding confusion to an already foggy landscape. The increasing (hyper)specialism of migration scholarly literature does not help. Yet, the starting of a dialogue with political science would only enrich both sides and bring a fresh perspective in the theorisation of politics in complex multilevel settings. To this end, in this Special Issue we argue for a re-focusing of the debate on some minimal conditions which should be fulfilled in order to consider a specific policy-making arrangement as an instance of MLG.
Theorising migration policy in multilevel states: the multilevel governance perspective
Caponio, Tiziana;
2018-01-01
Abstract
In this Introduction to the Special Issue we proceed as follows. In the first section we summerise the main positions in the current debate among political scientists on the notion of MLG. We try to place this notion in the broader context of existing theorisations on policymaking in multilevel political systems, in order to identify its specific traits vis-à-vis other neighbouring concepts such as IGR and federalism. The second section then provides a mapping of migration policy scholarly works explicitly adopting the interpretative lens of MLG, pointing out how this notion has been explicitly or, more often, implicitly conceptualised and applied to the study of specific policymaking processes. Against this background, the third section presents the contributions to this Special Issue and shows how they collectively contribute to illuminating parts of a broader puzzle which is the theorisation of migration policy in multilevel states by adopting either different conceptualisations of MLG or moving in a different, yet very closed, semantic and conceptual field which is that of IGR. Against this background, in the final section we elaborate on the steps needed in order to move forward the research agenda. Whereas the current debate on MLG in political science seems to be stuck around issues of conceptual definition, debates among migration policy scholars run often the risk of using the MLG label in an unthoughtful manner, adding confusion to an already foggy landscape. The increasing (hyper)specialism of migration scholarly literature does not help. Yet, the starting of a dialogue with political science would only enrich both sides and bring a fresh perspective in the theorisation of politics in complex multilevel settings. To this end, in this Special Issue we argue for a re-focusing of the debate on some minimal conditions which should be fulfilled in order to consider a specific policy-making arrangement as an instance of MLG.
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