Tackling policy challenges that others cannot reach?

: Policy integration in sub-state governments

Abstract

Despite the enthusiasm with which policy integration has been adopted, and high expectations of practitioners and policy makers, there is an emerging debate regarding its utility as a governance approach. This debate surrounding the future of policy integration as a means of addressing ‘wicked’ policy issues has paid scant attention to the role of sub-state governments. Despite their increasing role within this context, and the argued potential for sub-states to address such issues in a manner either distinct from, or more effectively than, national and supranational government, little is known about policy integration at the substate level. This study contributes to the ongoing debate regarding the utility of policy integration through a comparative analysis of the horizontal integration of sustainable development and equal opportunities in sub-state governments of Wales and Flanders. It does so by answering two research questions. First, assessing the effectiveness of the Welsh and Flemish governments in promoting policy integration by applying Candel and Biesbroek’s Policy Integration Framework. I conclude that the effectiveness of sub-state governments in promoting policy integration is similar to that of national and supranational governments. Further, many of the barriers faced by sub-state governments reflect those found at the national and supranational level. Second, I explore how, and to what effect, the Welsh and Flemish governments use their powers and resources to implement policy integration, applying Hood’s seminal NATO typology. This finds that sub-state governments’ use of powers and resources can have some effect on some aspects of policy integration, however, there remain elements that present seemingly intractable dilemmas independent of the use of powers and resources. Three primary contributions to knowledge are made. First, an analysis of the effectiveness of policy integration provides insight into the theoretical refinement and further study of policy integration. Second, a novel analysis of the use of government powers and resources within the context of policy integration in sub-state governments is presented. Third, I contribute towards the ongoing debate regarding policy integration as a governance approach.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Aberystwyth University
Supervisor	Huw Lewis (Supervisor) & Elin Royles (Supervisor)