Policy Paper on differentiation and sub-national actors

This policy paper will review of the state of the art and elaborate an analytical framework for studying differentiation at the subnational level Classical definitions of differentiated integration miss cases of integration that escape the statecentric logicin the first place experiences initiated and conducted by subnational actors through the creation of transnational networks as venues and structures for soft governance in the form of fora for the exchanges of ideas policy learning exchange of best practices establishment of soft norms etc The analytical framework for studying subnational differentiated integration focuses onThe conceptualtheoretical examination of a the nature and functioning of networks as instances of differentiated integration their origins capacities achievements limitations both in terms of governance innovation and efficiency and in terms of their politicaldemocratic legitimacy b the formal and informal links between network governance and differentiated integration more traditionally defined networks as pioneers of later Statedriven integration experiments as mitigation for the effects of differentiated integration for excluded countries by providing them with an alternative entry points into supranational arrangements and c the identification of causal mechanisms esp institutional and ideationaldiscursive dynamics structuring this interplay andAn empirical exploratory examination of a number of networks including local government networks and selected other nonterritorially based types of networks such as corporatist professional or civil society networks in order to probe the analytical framework for subsequent applications in WPs 456