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Deconstructing the Anthill: An Analysis of the Recovery and Resilience Facility’s Effect on Multi-Level Governance in the EU

von Kaphengst, Henrik LU (2023) STVM23 20231
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This research explores the effect of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) on multi-level governance (MLG) by adducing the theory of postfunctionalism’s explanatory power. Previous MLG research on the COVID-19 crisis found alternating national centralisation/decentralisation movements due to crisis management. Scrutinising the watershed RRF offers novel insights into MLG’s development. Applying the case study of Germany with its paradigmatic federal system, this research analyses primary sources at the supranational, the national, and the subnational level. A specifically devised framework guides the qualitative assessment of the documents with rhetorical criteria examining the extent of participation by the regional... (More)
This research explores the effect of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) on multi-level governance (MLG) by adducing the theory of postfunctionalism’s explanatory power. Previous MLG research on the COVID-19 crisis found alternating national centralisation/decentralisation movements due to crisis management. Scrutinising the watershed RRF offers novel insights into MLG’s development. Applying the case study of Germany with its paradigmatic federal system, this research analyses primary sources at the supranational, the national, and the subnational level. A specifically devised framework guides the qualitative assessment of the documents with rhetorical criteria examining the extent of participation by the regional level. A change in regional authority, determined by the conferred degree of involvement, is thereby seen as a parameter.
The research reveals that the RRF stimulates a centralisation at the national level, which leads to an estrangement between the national and the subnational level. Postfunctionalism elucidates the interaction between the pressure of the functional benefit of scale diversity with the demand for self-rule by a community as the underlying forces triggering the discords. The causal chain created in the analysis calls for raising awareness of regional participation in the drafting of EU legislation to foster regional cohesion in the Union. (Less)
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author
von Kaphengst, Henrik LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM23 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
multi-level governance, postfunctionalism, EU Recovery and Resilience Facility, COVID-19, German federalism
language
English
id
9114841
date added to LUP
2023-08-27 16:29:27
date last changed
2023-08-27 16:29:27
@misc{9114841,
  abstract     = {{This research explores the effect of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) on multi-level governance (MLG) by adducing the theory of postfunctionalism’s explanatory power. Previous MLG research on the COVID-19 crisis found alternating national centralisation/decentralisation movements due to crisis management. Scrutinising the watershed RRF offers novel insights into MLG’s development. Applying the case study of Germany with its paradigmatic federal system, this research analyses primary sources at the supranational, the national, and the subnational level. A specifically devised framework guides the qualitative assessment of the documents with rhetorical criteria examining the extent of participation by the regional level. A change in regional authority, determined by the conferred degree of involvement, is thereby seen as a parameter.
The research reveals that the RRF stimulates a centralisation at the national level, which leads to an estrangement between the national and the subnational level. Postfunctionalism elucidates the interaction between the pressure of the functional benefit of scale diversity with the demand for self-rule by a community as the underlying forces triggering the discords. The causal chain created in the analysis calls for raising awareness of regional participation in the drafting of EU legislation to foster regional cohesion in the Union.}},
  author       = {{von Kaphengst, Henrik}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Deconstructing the Anthill: An Analysis of the Recovery and Resilience Facility’s Effect on Multi-Level Governance in the EU}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}