The territorial architecture of government

Abstract

This article sets the stage for a special issue that examines the interplay between subnational and supranational governance. It begins by discussing how the territorial architecture of government has become more multilevel as national governments have shifted authority both downwards to subnational governments and upwards to international and supranational institutions. Next, we argue that this multilevel structure emanates from a tension between the drive to reap the functional benefits of scale diversity in a globalizing economy and the pressures arising from collective self-rule. We build on the research in this special issue to highlight some tangible effects of this tension for policy, politics, and polity. Subnational and supranational governance are conventionally perceived as separate phenomena with distinct consequences, and yet they are intimately connected in a fluid territorial architecture of multilevel governance.