Introduction: A world with no isolated territories
Although this book has so far placed the central emphasis on territories and their features (endowments, barriers, institutions, capacities), nowadays local systems and territorial societies cannot be viewed as isolated or self-sufficient in promoting growth or fostering SHD.
Local development does not depend exclusively on local efforts (Sforzi, 2005), and multilevel complexity and governance cannot be ignored.1Analysing how governance levels and sectors are connected, integrated and harmonized with regard to actions to foster entrepreneurship and/or reduce inequality, vulnerability and social exclusion (among other policy areas) is essential to generate a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of SHD at the local level. As we have seen, the Capability Approach (CA) advances a dynamic connection among analytical levels (micro, meso, macro) that are traditionally separated or at least not adequately integrated (Biggeri and Chiappero-Martinetti, 2010). Therefore, pursuing SHD involves articulation across: individuals' and families' real opportunities to flourish; the territorial enhancement of an enabling system; the national public expenditure and institutional architecture favouring the satisfaction of basic needs and the protection of human rights; and the international organization of shared regulatory regimes in line with the pillars of SHD. In other words, effective SHD trajectories at the local level can be pursued only if all levels are involved and are adequately aligned towards the achievement of shared objectives.
The objective of this chapter is to discuss the relevance of multilevel governance (MLG) for the SHD processes that characterize modern territorial societies (Noferini, 2010). Without intending to provide an exhaustive account of all potential governance mechanisms, this chapter focuses on the horizontal and vertical dimensions of multilevel articulation, that is, coordination among public, private, civil society and research institutions within territories, on the one hand, and coordination at the local, regional, national, supranational and international levels, on the other hand.
The combination and coordination of resources, institutions and capacities deriving from different levels and sectors crucially affects those enabling factors and processes that are essential for expanding agents' capabilities and increasing community well-being, both in economic and social terms. In fact, Bronfenbrenner (1979, p. 18) stresses that ‘environmental events and conditions outside any immediate setting containing the person can have a profound influence on behaviour and development within that setting', as forces in the larger geographical, institutional and social milieu influence the relation between people and their immediate environment. This argument is consistent with Dreze and Sen (2002, p. 20), who emphasize the ‘need for thinking in terms of a multi-institution format' within the HD approach. In addition, the provision of global public goods and the international alignment of policies have significant effects in the short and medium term on collective efficiency and social outcomes of Local Development Systems (LDSs), leading to relevant impacts on SHD processes.Therefore, applying the Sustainable Territorial Evolution for Human Development (STEHD) framework provides a new analytical lens to assess the multilevel articulation and disarticulation of LDSs.
The remainder of this chapter is divided into five sections. In the second section, the question of horizontal and vertical MLG is considered, with particular reference to centre-periphery (dis)alignment and decentralization mechanisms (Azfar et al., 1999; Rodriguez-Pose and Bwire, 2004; Mehrotra, 2015, forthcoming), international cooperation strategies (Biggeri and Canitano, 2010) and trans-local pipelines (Bathelt et al., 2004) and networks (Coe and Bunnell, 2003). These factors deserve special emphasis within the perspective of SHD at the local level.
The third section focuses on flexible adaptation of the STEHD framework (see Chapter 2), in order to assess (dis)integration and (dis)articulation among levels and sectors in strategic development interventions and planning, as well as the harmonization of shared development objectives for the local community.
The fourth section briefly discusses some relevant experiences of multilevel articulation in two Latin American countries (Bolivia and Ecuador), where dialogue, synergies and coordination across governance levels have been fostered to increase the pertinence, coherence and ultimately the sustainability of HD policies.
The chapter concludes by stressing the importance of embracing a multilevel perspective for analytical and policy purposes, in order to avoid an incomplete account and to valorize the complexity of modern societies.
Appendix 3.1 presents a model of MLG and international coordination based on game theory, which includes key features of the globalization process, such as the delocalization of manufacturing, FDI flows and investments in R&D.
3.2