This book focuses on territorial policies as instruments for local development in Europe's periphery. Using a multiple-case research design in three typical case studies in the context of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia (Italy), we empirically test the hypothesis that the institutionalisation of the governance system is an independent variable that is capable of influencing the quality of public policy, intended as a dependent variable. According to this hypothesis, the two above-mentioned variables tend to change according to a linear and direct correlation: upward variation of the degree of institutionalisation of the governance system tends to correspond to upward variation in the quality of the policy, and vice versa. In our conclusions, we discuss the descriptive and prescriptive implications of the empirical findings of the research for the local development of peripheral areas. Regarding the descriptive implications, we explain how territorial policy-making can be articulated, based on the degree of institutionalisation of the governance system and the quality of the territorial policies. Regarding the prescriptive implications, we identify the best practices for territorial governance in order to improve the chances of local development in Europe's periphery.

This book focuses on territorial policies as instruments for local development in Europe's periphery. Using a multiple-case research design in three typical case studies in the context of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia (Italy), we empirically test the hypothesis that the institutionalisation of the governance system is an independent variable that is capable of influencing the quality of public policy, intended as a dependent variable. According to this hypothesis, the two above-mentioned variables tend to change according to a linear and direct correlation: upward variation of the degree of institutionalisation of the governance system tends to correspond to upward variation in the quality of the policy, and vice versa. In our conclusions, we discuss the descriptive and prescriptive implications of the empirical findings of the research for the local development of peripheral areas. Regarding the descriptive implications, we explain how territorial policy-making can be articulated, based on the degree of institutionalisation of the governance system and the quality of the territorial policies. Regarding the prescriptive implications, we identify the best practices for territorial governance in order to improve the chances of local development in Europe's periphery.

Over the last fifteen years a higher demand for security has been recorded in the political market of democracies. Policy-makers have increasingly used contracts to safeguard the peace and safety of the citizenry. "Governing by contract" has been considered one of the most significant processes of political-administrative change. But how do urban security policies managed "by contract" work in practice? Should contracts be considered an effective solution for governing crime and disorder at the local level?This book answers these questions, focusing on urban security policy in Italy in the years 1994-2012. The first part of the volume is devoted to a comparative analysis of the urban security policies in the UK, France, and Italy. The second part is dedicated to the analysis of the Italian case, and in particular to an ex-ante impact evaluation of security pacts - written contracts issued by local governments. The third and final part is then committed to an ex-post impact evaluation of the pacts aimed to test their efficacy in governing crime at the local level.The book gives a unique coverage - in a crossroad between political science and criminology - of how contracts are used for governing crime and disorder, with the aid of cutting-edge quantitative techniques in the social sciences such as quantitative narrative analysis and fixed effects regression model. The volume will be of interest to political scientists and criminologists specialized in urban security, as well as policy-makers interested in practical implications of governing crime and disorder by contract.