Local interest groups and the perception of power in Spanish cities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21308/recp.46.04Keywords:
power, interest groups, business, cities, mayors.Abstract
Studies on local interest groups have generated a considerable number of theories on urban power that have eventually become the basis of far-reaching approaches on democracy and collective action. Such literature has been especially concerned with discovering who governs the city, paving the way for discussions on elitism, pluralism and urban regimes. Some approaches consider that the business elite dominates local politics, while other theories assert that interests other than business (neighbors, environmentalists, faith-based organizations, civic groups) have been gaining relevance and access to local government. The POLLEADER survey (2006) provided data on the influence of certain social groups as perceived by mayors in Spain. Data showed that the local business community was, at best, as influential and active as voluntary associations. With recent data from the POLLEADER II survey (2015), this article confirms a certain pluralistic model of local power and, it considers the number of inhabitants and the Mayors’ ideology as key factors to determine variation in the way interest groups’ influence is perceived.
Downloads
References
Abney, Glenn, and Thomas P. Lauth. 1985. “Interest Groups Influence in City Policy-Making: The Views of Administrators”, Western Political Quarterly, 38: 148-161. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/448289.
Alba, Carlos and Carmen Navarro. 2003. “Twenty Five Years of Local Government in Spain”, in N. Kerting and A. Vetter (eds.), Reforming Local Government in Europe. Closing the Gap between Democracy and Efficiency. Opladen: Leske and Budrich. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-11258-7_10.
Alba, Carlos and Carmen Navarro. 2011. “Administrative Tradition and Reforms in Spain: Adaptation versus Innovation”, Public Administration, 89 (3): 783-800. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01886.x.
Atkinson, Hugh and Stuart Wilks-Heeg. 2000. Local Government from Thatcher to Blair: The Politics of Creative Autonomy. London: Wiley.
Bachrach, Peter and Morton S. Baratz . 1962. “Two Faces of Power”, American Political Science Review, 56: 947-952. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1952796.
Bassand, Michel and Daniel Kübler. 2001. “Introduction: Metropolization and Metropolitan Governance”, Swiss Political Science Review, 7: 121-123.
Bellver, Ana and Daniel Kaufmann. 2005. Transparenting Transparency: Initial Empirics and Policy Applications. Washington DC: The World Bank.
Binderkrantz, Anne. 2005. “Interest Group Strategies: Navigating between Privileged Access and Strategies of Pressure”, Political Studies, 53: 694-715. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2005.00552.x.
Binderkrantz, Anne. 2008. “Different Groups, Different Strategies: How Interest Groups Pursue their Political Ambitions”, Scandinavian Political Studies, 31 (2): 173-200. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2008.00201.x.
Binderkrantz, Anne, Helene H. Pedersen and Jan Beyers. 2016. “What is Access? A Discussion of the Definition and Measurement of Interest Group Access”, European Political Science, 16, 306-321. Available at: doi:10.1057/eps.2016.17. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2016.17.
Binderkrantz, Anne, Helene H. Pedersen and Peter M. Christiansen. 2015. “Interest Group Access to the Administration, Parliament and Media”, Governance, 28 (1): 95-112. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12089.
Botella, Joan. 1992. “La galaxia local en el sistema político espa-ol”, Revista de Estudios Políticos, 76: 145-160.
Braun-Poppelars, Caelesta. 2007. “Resource Exchange in Urban Governance: On the Means that Matter”, Urban Affairs Review, 43 (1): 3-27. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087407302766.
Brenner, Neil and Nik Theodore. 2002. Spaces of Neoliberalism: Urban Restructuring in North America and Western Europe. Oxford: Blackwell. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444397499.
Browning, Rufus P., Dale R. Marshall and David H. Tabb. 2003. Racial Politics in American Cities. New York: Longman.
Buchanan, S. 1982. “Power and Planning in Rural Areas: Preparation of the Suffolk County Structure Plan”, in M. Moseley (ed.), Power, Planning and People in Rural East Anglia. Norwich, Norfolk: Centre for East Anglian Studies, University of East Anglia.
Castells, Manuel. 1978. City, Class and Power. London: Macmillan. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27923-4.
Cooper, Christopher A., Anthony J. Nownes and Steven Roberts. 2005. “Perceptions of Power: Interest Groups in Local Politics”, State and Local Government Review, 37 (3): 206-216. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X0503700303.
Cotton, Christopher. 2012. “Pay-to-Play Politics: Informational Lobbying and Contribution Limits when Money Buys Access”, Journal of Public Economics, 96 (3-4): 369-386. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2011.11.005.
Dahl, Robert A. 1961. Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City. Yale: Yale University Press.
DeLeon, Richard E. 1992. Left Coast City: Progressive Politics in San Francisco, 1975-1991. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
De Socio, Mark. 2007. “Business Community Structures and Urban Regimes: A Comparative Analysis”, Journal of Urban Affairs, 29: 339-366. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9906.2007.00350.x.
Dür, Andreas and Gemma Mateo. 2013. “Gaining Access or Going Public? Interest Group Strategies in Five European Countries”, European Journal of Political Research, 52 (5): 660-686. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12012.
Elkins, David R. 1995. “The Structure and Context of the Urban Growth Coalition: The View from the Chamber of Commerce”, Policy Studies Journal, 23: 583-600. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0072.1995.tb00536.x.
Erlingsson, Gissur Ó. and Jörgen Ödalen. 2013. “How Should Local Government be Organised? Reflections from a Swedish Perspective”, Local Government Studies, 39 (1): 22-46. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2012.744967.
Esteller, Alejandro and José Luis Polo-Otero. 2010. Análisis de los determinantes de la transparencia fiscal: evidencia empírica para los municipios catalanes. Documentos de Trabajo FUNCAS, 560/2010.
Fainstein, Susan S. and Norman Fainstein. 1983. “Economic Change, National Policy and the System of Cities”, in S.S. Fainstein, N. Fainstein, R. Child Hill, D. Judd and P. Smith (eds.), Restructuring the Cities: The Political Economy of Urban Redevelopment. New York: Longman.
Feiock, Richard C., Kent E. Portney, Jungah Bae and Jeffrey M. Berry. 2014. “Governing Local Sustainability: Agency Venues and Business Group Access”, Urban Affairs Review, 50 (2): 157-179. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087413501635.
Fitch, Kimberly. 2007. “Water Privatisation in France and Germany: The Importance of Local Interest Groups”, Local Government Studies, 33 (4): 589-605. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930701417627.
García-Quesada, Mónica, Fernando Jiménez and Manuel Villoria. 2013. “Building Local Integrity Systems in Southern Europe: The Case of Urban Local Corruption in Spain”, International Review of Administrative Sciences, 79 (4): 618-637. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852313501125.
Geddes, Mike. 2009. “Marxism and Urban Politics”, in J.S. Davies and D.L. Imbroscio (eds.), Theories of Urban Politics. London: Sage Publications. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446279298.n5.
Goldsmith, Michael. 2006. “From Community Power and Back Again?”, in H. Baldersheim and H. Wollmann (eds.), The Comparative Study of Local Government and Politics: Overview and Synthesis. Opladen: Barbara Budrich Publishers.
Grant, Wyn. 1978. Insider Groups, Outsider Groups and Interest Group Strategies in Britain. Working Papers of Warwick University, Department of Political Science, 19.
Guillamón, María-Dolores, Francisco Bastida and Bernardino Benito. 2011. “The Determinants of Local Governments’ Financial Transparency”, Local Government Studies, 37 (4): 391-406. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2011.588704.
Häikiö, Liisa. 2012. “From Innovation to Convention: Legitimate Citizen Participation in Local Governance”, Local Government Studies, 38 (4): 415-435. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2012.698241.
Hanegraaff, Marcel, Jan Beyers and Iskander De Bruycker. 2016. “Balancing Inside and Outside Lobbying: The Political Strategies of Lobbyists at Global Diplomatic Conferences”, European Journal of Political Research, 55: 568-588. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12145.
Harding, Alan. 1995. “Elite Theory and Growth Machines”, in D. Judge, G. Stoker and H. Wolman (eds.), Theories of Urban Politics. London: Sage Publications.
Harvey, David. 1973. Social Justice and the City. London: Arnold.
Hunter, Floyd. 1953. Community Power Structure. A Study of Decision Makers. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Jessop, Bob. 2002. “Liberalism, Neoliberalism and Urban Governance: A State-Theoretical Perspective”, in N. Brenner and N. Theodore (eds.), Spaces of Neoliberalism: Urban Restructuring in North America and Western Europe. Oxford: Blackwell. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444397499.ch5.
Jiménez, Fernando, Mónica García-Quesada and Manuel Villoria. 2014. “Integrity Systems, Values and Expectations. Explaining Differences in the Extent of Corruption in Three Spanish Local Governments”, International Journal of Public Administration, 37 (2): 67-82. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2013.836666.
Kübler, Daniel. 2012. “Governing the Metropolis: Towards Kinder, Gentler Democracies”, European Political Science, 11: 430-445. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2011.44.
Lefèbvre, Henri. 1991. The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell.
Lindblom, Charles E. 1977. Politics and Markets: The World’s Political-economic Systems. New York: Basic Books.
Logan, John and Harvey Molotch. 1987. Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Mesh, Gustavo S. and Kent P. Schwirian. 1996. “The Effectiveness of Neighbourhood Collective Action”, Social Problems, 43: 467-483. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/3096955.
Molins, Joaquim M., Luz Muñoz and Iván Medina (eds.). 2016. Los grupos de interés en España: la influencia de los lobbies en la política española. Madrid: Tecnos.
Mossberger, Karen. 2009. “Urban Regime Analysis”, in J. S. Davies and D. L. Imbroscio (eds.), Theories of Urban Politics. London: Sage Publications. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446279298.n4.
Mouritzen, Poul and James Svara. 2002. Leadership at the Apex: Politicians and Administrators in Western Local Governments. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Navarro, Carmen. 2014. “Immigrant Associations and Local Politics in Madrid”, in F. Velasco and M. A. Torres (eds.), Global Cities and Immigrants: A Comparative Study of Chicago and Madrid. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Navarro, Carmen. 2016. “Los grupos de interés y el Gobierno local en España”, in J. M. Molins, L. Muñoz and I. Medina (eds.), Los grupos de interés en España: la influencia de los lobbies en la política española. Madrid: Tecnos.
Navarro-Yañez, Clemente, Annick Magnier and María Antonia Ramírez-Pérez. 2008. “Local Governance as Government-Business Cooperation in Western Democracies”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 32 (3): 531-547. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2008.00816.x.
Parés, Marc, Jordi Bonet-Martí and Marc Martí-Costa. 2012. “Does Participation Really Matter in Urban Regeneration Policies? Exploring Governance Networks in Catalonia (Spain)”, Urban Affairs Review, 48 (2): 238-271. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087411423352.
Peterson, Paul. 1981. City Limits. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226922645.001.0001.
Pike, Andy, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose and John Tomaney. 2006. Local and Regional Development. London and New York: Routledge.
Pietrowsky, Suzanne J. and Gregg G. Van Ryzin. 2007. “Citizen Attitudes toward Transparency in Local Government”, The American Review of Public Administration, 37 (3): 306-323. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074006296777.
Polsby, Nelson. 1963. Community Power and Political Theory. Yale: Yale University Press.
Ramírez-Pérez, Antonia, Clemente Navarro-Yáñez and Terry N. Clark. 2008. “Mayors and Local Governing Coalitions in Democratic Countries: A Cross-National Comparison”, Local Government Studies, 34 (2): 147-178. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930701852245.
Salet, Willet and Federico Savini. 2015. “The Political Governance of Urban Peripheries”, Environment and Planning C, 33: 448-456. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0263774X15594052.
Sharp, Elaine B. 2003. “Political Participation in Cities”, in J. P. Pelissero (ed.), Cities, Politics and Policy: A Comparative Analysis. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483330006.n3.
Smith, Neil. 1991. Uneven Development: Nature, Capital and the Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell.
Stoker, Gerry. 1995. “Regime Theory and Urban Politics”, in D. Judge, G. Stoker and H. Wolman (eds.), Theories of Urban Politics. London: Sage Publications.
Stoker, Gerry and David Wilson. 1991. “The Lost World of British Local Pressure Groups”, Public Policy and Administration, 6 (2): 20-34. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/095207679100600202.
Stone, Clarence. 1989. Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946-1988. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
Stone, Clarence. 1993. “Urban Regimes and Capacity to Govern”, Journal of Urban Affairs, 15: 1-28. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9906.1993.tb00300.x.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Joaquim M. Molins, Iván Medina
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
