Managing the river basin: The role of regional authorities in the European Union administrative system

Abstract

The PhD-thesis studies how the quest for more sustainable and ecosystem based water management affects coordination practices of bureaucrats across institutional divides, policy sectors and government levels, with a view to illuminate whether and how administrative integration deepens down to the regional level of government and practitioner stage of policy implementation. Based on an embedded case study of the implementation of the EU Water framework directive (WFD) in Sweden and Norway, the thesis applies institutionalist perspectives on administrative action and change, to better understand the functioning of the EU multilevel administration and the complexities of ecosystem based governance.