Multi-Level (Territorial) Governance: Three Criticisms

Abstract

Multi-level territorial governance has entered European planning discourse, but is the term “territorial” actually redundant? After all, multi-level governance is already thought to refer to the interaction between nested territorial administrations. So could multi-level governance be criticised for giving more attention to the roles and positions of lower-levels in a multi-level polity rather than invoking a comprehensive concept of governance implicating non-governmental actors in policy making? And does the multi-level governance literature ignore the underlying metageography? Whether territories are accordingly fixed jurisdictions or malleable social constructs has implications for planning and beyond.