Course Name Year Term Period Faculty / Graduate School All Instructors Credits
50605:[2025 Spring]Multi-level Governance Ⅲ (P) 2025 Spring Fri3 College　Of　Policy　Science KANAGAWA KOJI 2

Campus

OIC

Class Venue

AS458

Language

English

Course Outline and Method

This course examines the concept of multi-level governance as a critical framework for understanding contemporary public policy. With the shift from traditional government to a broader model of governance, there is an increasing need for diverse actors—including governments, communities, and civil society organizations—to collaborate in addressing public issues. Multi-level governance operates across international, national, regional, prefectural, municipal, and neighborhood levels, with governance concepts applicable to a wide variety of geographic contexts.

The course focuses primarily on governance at the municipal and neighborhood levels, drawing on diverse case studies. Particular emphasis is placed on Japanese community policy and the UK’s partnership policy in the context of sustainable urban and rural development. Through these examples, students will explore key themes such as governance in deprived areas, community empowerment, the role of social capital, communitarianism, civil society engagement, and participatory partnerships.

Student Attainment Objectives

1. To understand the meaning of governance compared with government.
2. To understand community empowerment from related theories such as social capital, and communitarianism.
3. To understand the meanings of decentralization and the proper size of the municipality.
4. To understand the meaning of the amalgamation of municipality from service provision and participatory democracy.
5. To understand the Japanese civil society for collaboration and participation with the statutory sector.

Recommended Preparatory Course

Course Schedule

Lecture/Instructor（When there are multiple instructors) Theme
Keyword, References and Supplementary Information
Lec. 1

Introduction(online)

Introduction to multi-level governance

【+R-Jugyo】Information for “+R-Jugyo” will be posted on manaba+R.

Lec. 2

Theory of governance and multi-level governance

Example of governance from the viewpoint of NPM and collaboration with multiple actors
Meaning of local-level and community-level governance

Lec. 3

Community in Policy and Practice

Disadvantaged community, global North and global South, US War on Poverty, Community management, Thatcher administration, Neighbourhood Renewal, Area-based policies in the UK, Participatory budgeting in Brazil.

Lec. 4-5

Ideas of Community, Contradictions of Community

Definition of community, Social capital, Communitarianism, Civil society, Mutuality, Networks and informality

Lec. 6

Experiencing Empowerment

Reality of partnership, policy operation in the UK

Lec.7

Community Board and Neighborhood Councils in the USA

Devolution to the community in the cases of Los Angeles, New York, Takoma, Portland, Boston, etc.

Lec. 8

Mid-term presentation

Mid-term presentation from the students

Lec. 9

Japanese municipality; Type and population, central-local relationship

Type of Japanese municipality, Devolution from central government to local government, Japanese amalgamation from the viewpoint of democracy and service provision

Lec. 10-11

New policy triggered by the amalgamation

Devolution to community
Neighborhood Councils(NCs) and their operations

Lec. 12

Japanese civil society and neighborhood association

Characteristics of Japanese civil society comparing the international perspective

Lec. 13-14

The final presentation

The final presentation from the students
The final presentation from the students

Class Format

11 classes on Face to Face basis, 3 classes on Media basis (either live-streamed classes or on-demand classes).

Recommendations for Private Study

Each student will be provided several presentation opportunities throughout the semester. The presenter is required to present a specified theme, with presentation materials prepared in advance. All students are expected to participate in the discussion in the class, having studied in advance the required theme.

Grade Evaluation Method

Kind Percentage Grading Criteria etc.
Final Examination (Written)

Report Examination
(A report to be submitted by the unified deadline)

Exams and/or Reports other than those stated above, and Continuous Assessment　
(Evaluation of Everyday Performance in Class)		 100

Attendance, class performance, quizzes, presentations, and short memo assignments.

Grade Evaluation Method （Note）

Advice to Students on Study and Research Methods

Textbooks

Title Author Publisher ISBN Code Comment
Public Policy in the Community Marilyn Taylor Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan 9780230242647 2nd ed.
Local government amalgamation in Japan; Creating a New Local Governance or New Crisis of Governance? Koike Osamu Yokohama Journal of Social Sciences, vol.15, No.4, 1-9. 2010 https://ynu.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/3050
ch 3, Central and Local Government Relations in Public Administration in Japan Masatsugu Ito Springer Nature 978-3-031-58610-1 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/93230
ch16. Civil Society in Japan in "The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics" Akihiro Ogawa Oxford University Press 9780190051006 https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/40699
The Characteristics and Challenges of Japanese Neighborhood Associations: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey of Municipalities in Japan Koji Kanagawa, et al. Journal of Regional Information and Development The Research and Development Institute of Regional Information, Ritsumeikan University, No14, 2025
Neighborhood associations and local governance in Japan Robert J. Pekkanen, Yutaka Tsujinaka, and Hidehiro Yamamoto Abingdon : Routledge 9780415745734
Localism and the Design of Political Systems Rick Harmes Routledge 78-0-367-81005-4
The Theory of Multi-Level Governance : Conceptual, Empirical, and Normative Challenges Piattoni, Simona Oxford : Oxford University Press 9780191573156 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ritsumei/detail.action?docID=497650

Textbooks （Frequency of Use, Note）

It is not nessesry to purchase the text book or other materials as they are delivered by prints or PDF through manaba+R.

Reference Books

Title Author Publisher ISBN Code Comment
Participatory urban governance under the microscope: A qualitative study of high-functioning neighborhood councils in Los Angeles Brady Collins and Dana Kalei Del Rey JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS To understand American example of Neighborhood Council.https://www.wpsanet.org/papers/docs/Participatory%20urban%20governance%20under%20the%20microscope%20A%20qualitative%20study%20of%20high%20functioning%20neighborhood%20councils%20in%20Los%20Angeles.pdf
Multi-level governance Ian Bache and Matthew Flinders(eds.) Oxford University Press 9780191531804 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ritsumei/detail.action?docID=3053466&query=Multi-level%2520governance
Participatory urban governance under the microscope: A qualitative study of high-functioning neighborhood councils in Los Angeles Brady Collins & Dana Kalei Del Rey To understand American example of Neighborhood Council.https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2020.1820873
Deliberative Democracy and the Paradox of Participation Kazushi Tamano International Journal of Japanese Sociology, 2021 To undestand paradox of paticipation.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijjs.12116
Multi-level governance : the missing linkages Rick Harmes Emerald 9781784418748 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ritsumei/detail.action?docID=2084929

Reference Books （Frequency of Use, Note）

Web Pages for Reference

How to Communicate with the Instructor In and Out of Class(Including Instructor Contact Information)

Learning Management System （manaba+R）,Talk with Students

Other Comments

I will deliver the lecture handout based on the text or some other materials.
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