Institutional Shifts In Inter-Municipal Service Delivery

Comparative research on inter-municipal cooperation in eight European countries shows that there is a great variety of institutional arrangements for cooperation across the different countries. Also, these arrangements tend to change over time in terms of the scope of cooperation among partners, their composition and the degree of organizational integration. This article describes and analyzes the variety of and shifts in institutional arrangements for a specific class of inter-municipal cooperation arrangements: those that are set up to provide for the joint delivery of public services. It is argued that specific arrangements are typically the outcomes of interaction between national institutional contexts, environmental factors and local preferences.     

Governance in Regional Development—Between Regulation and Self-regulation

This article examines the relationship between regulation and self-regulation in network governance. The comparative analysis is based on quantitative data collected in regional development networks in the Nordic countries. The theoretical debate, in which this analysis is embedded, focuses on the paradox in the way the relationship between regulation and self-regulation is described in network governance approach; the networks are seen to be self-organising, and yet the steering role of governmental bodies is emphasised. The results indicate that regulation and self-regulation are more than counterforces: they can coexist and affect the operations of the networks simultaneously.     

Perceptions of Legitimacy in Nordic Regional Development Networks

This article examines actors’ views on legitimacy in governance networks in four Nordic countries. The analysis is based on a survey of similar regional development networks in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The countries form a continuum, in which the connection between legitimacy and representative democracy is strongest in Denmark and weakest in Finland. Norway and Sweden fall in between the two. Not only the strength, but also the form of the connection, and the weight given to it vary among the countries. Article contributes to the debate on democracy in network governance.     

Discussing school celebrations from an intercultural perspective – a study in the Finnish context

The increased diversity in pupils’ cultural and ethnic backgrounds in schools creates urgent demands for the organization of school celebrations in many countries. Celebrations represent the cultural values of the society and it is important to find out how various traditions are expressed in them. This study examines teachers’ and other educational staff members’ perceptions of Finnish culture, Lutheran religiosity, and intercultural education relating to Christmas, Independence Day, and end-of-term celebrations in Finnish schools. The data of this paper consists of 12 thematic interviews, and participation in two school festivals. The interview data were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis. The analysis of this study shows that festivals are perceived as important parts of education and they can help to create a sense of national or cultural community. However, the intercultural potential of school celebrations is often not put to its full use. There exists an urgent need to create new ways of carrying out celebrations in multicultural school communities so that they would be meaningful for all students.