What Remains Unwritten? Developing a Critical Evaluation of Multi-level Governance and its Futures in Australian Public Policy and Politics

Abstract

Among the potentially long list of untreated issues, we have elected to focus on three key themes. First, we investigate the counter-evidence to the development of MLG approaches and how, where and when ‘non- negotiable’ inflexible approaches to governance across levels are most likely to flourish, using examples from national policy initiatives. Second, we investigate the issue of research practice and methodologies employed in studying MLG processes presented in and beyond this volume, which have yet to be systematically elicited. These two investigations allow us to postulate why certain case studies have appeared in this volume and not others, as well as why there is a relatively large gap between the theoretically focused and case study example chapters. It then leads us into a final section of new theorisation to state the conditions – or rather cultures and political value systems – under which different types of MLG systems may appear and be reorganised. We can hence postulate where such systems will likely have the brightest and darkest futures across Australia’s public policy and political system, and to what extent future research and focus on specific MLG practice may or may not prove fruitful.