The Logics and Limits of 'Collaborative Governance' in Nantes: Myth, Ideology and the Politics of New Urban Regimes

Date
2018-10-31
Authors
Griggs, Steven
Howarth, David
Feandeiro, A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
This article characterizes and evaluates a paradigm case of urban collaborative governance: the so-called ‘Nantes model’. Stressing its positioning in the particular tradition of French politics, and drawing on poststructuralist discourse theory, this article demonstrates how the myth of the ‘jeu à la Nantaise’ (the “Nantes game”) informs a discourse of urban collaborative governance with a distinctive triad of policy goals. In the context of fiscal tightening and multiple crises, this governance practice involves various strategies designed to incorporate neighbourhoods and communities in the co-production of public policies in a pragmatic way. Analyzing the grammar and forms of these practices reveals that ‘co-governance’ in Nantes functions as a ‘doctrinal abridgement’, leading to a growing managerialization in an increasingly codified system of community participation. We thus conclude that one line of flight in the ‘Nantes model’ signifies a movement away from an image of collaborative pragmatism as a complex praxis of governing to an ideology that conceals the complications and messiness of governing in a collaborative manner.
Description
Reseach undertaken as part of the comparative study, Collaborative Governance Under Austerity. The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
Keywords
Collaborative governance, discourse; pragmatism, discourse, pragmatism, co-production, community participation
Citation
Griggs, S., Howarth, D., and Feandeiro, A. (2018) The Logics and Limits of “Collaborative Governance” in Nantes: Myth, Ideology and the Politics of New Urban Regimes. Journal of Urban Affairs, forthcoming.
Research Institute
Local Governance Research Centre (LGRC)
Centre for Urban Research on Austerity (CURA)