Local government capacity building through decentralized cooperation : a case study on the partnership between Tyre (Lebanon) and Zurich (Switzerland)

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Local government capacity building through decentralized

cooperation

A case study on the partnership between Tyre (Lebanon) and Zurich (Switzerland)

MSc Thesis

International Development Studies 2018 – 19 Graduate School of Social Sciences

Lena Hochuli 12256447 lena.hochuli@gmx.ch

Supervisor: Edith van Ewijk Second reader: Paul van Lindert

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Abstract

In late 2017, the city of Tyre and the city of Zurich entered into a city-to-city project partnership with the aim of mutual government capacity building through knowledge exchange focussing on the topics of slow traffic / soft mobility and refugee reception. This partnership offers an especially interesting case to study decentralized cooperation. Tyre hosts a large number of refugees and is characterized by a distinct multilevel governance context. Previous research has not focused on the interplay between decentralized cooperation and the dynamics of a multilevel governance context. Consequently, this thesis aimed at answering the following research question: How is the city-to-city project partnership between Zurich and Tyre situated within the multilevel governance context of the two cities and what is its potential for being instrumental to mutual local government capacity building, taking into account their respective governance contexts? This research is based on in-depth expert interviews and participatory observation both in Tyre and Zurich, complemented by document analysis. Through thematic content analysis, this research shows that the multilevel governance dynamics prevailing in Tyre not only influence the current position of the Tyre municipality but also profoundly influence the partnerships’ setup and thematic focus. The partnership’s collaborative governance approach to government capacity building is new to Tyre and offers the potential for (mutual) learning. It can be instrumental for targeting obstacles stemming from the multilevel context. However, the interplay between the context and the partnership is not yet clearly addressed within the partnership leading to a diffusion of the partners’ roles and the levels of intervention, thus limiting the partnership’s potential for peer-to-peer learning. For the efforts of the partnership to be sustainably instrumental to government capacity building in such a complex context, these dynamics have to be systematically addressed and included.

Key words

Decentralized cooperation, multilevel governance, collaborative governance, government capacity building

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Acknowledgements

First, I want to thank Edith van Ewijk for her excellent supervision, her continuous support, inputs and suggestions during the whole process of this thesis. Second, I want to thank the institutional partners of the city-to-city project-partnership, the municipalities of Tyre and Zurich and UN Habitat, for making it possible for me to conduct research on this partnership. I was not only introduced to a compelling research topic, but also to a complex country and city in which I feel at ease. Third, I want to thank all the people who were part of this study and took their time to provide me with insights into their work and expertise. Last but not least, my sincerest gratitude goes to Hussein Houbballah for his support and friendship, for providing me with access to stakeholders, for answering all my questions with admirable patience and for making me feel at home in Tyre.

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Acronyms and abbreviations

List of figures

and tables

AOZ Asylum Organization of Zurich

CG Collaborative governance C2C City-to-City

C2CPP City-to-City project partnership DC Decentralized cooperation GCB Government capacity building

(I)NGO(s) (International) non-governmental organisation(s) LCRP Lebanon crisis response plan

MLG Multilevel governance RTO Regional technical office

SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDGs Sustainable development goals

Tyre Municipality of Tyre UoM Union of municipalities UoT Union of Tyre municipalities Zurich Municipality of Zurich

Figure 1 Preliminary conceptual scheme p. 19

Figure 2 Multilevel governance context in Tyre and main actors p. 32 Figure 3 Governance context in Zurich and main actors p. 44

Figure 4 Adjusted conceptual framework of the C2CPP p. 62

Figure 5 Adjusted conceptual scheme – the C2CPP in a multilevel governance context p. 65 Figure 6 Ansell & Gash’s (2007) model of collaborative governance p. 91 Textbox 1 “Integrated Natural Resources Management” of the UoT p. 40 Textbox 2 The pragmatic approach of cities to every-day challenges p. 48

Table 1 Working definitions of the key concepts p. 20

Table 2 Summary of the actors’ political agendas and objectives p. 52 Table 3 Summary of the C2CPP’s means for government capacity building p. 60

Table 4 Transparency table interviews p. 85

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1. Introduction

1.1. Problem definition and personal motivation

The municipality of Tyre, Lebanon and the municipality of Zurich, Switzerland have in late 2017 formally entered a city-to-city project-partnership (C2CPP) with the aim of mutual government capacity building focussing on the topics of “slow traffic / soft mobility” (traffic arrangements in favour of pedestrians and cyclists) and “urban refugee reception”. This cooperation was established as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis starting in 2011, which affected local communities both in the Middle East and in European countries. UN Habitat Lebanon acts as a facilitator for this partnership.

According to relevant literature and research on cooperation between cities, decentralized cooperation (DC) in the form of city-to-city partnerships (C2C) can be uniquely instrumental to local government capacity building due to the specific expertise of cities in coping with local governance challenges. C2C offer the possibility of knowledge-exchange between peers. Cities have unique expertise on local service delivery and in conducting long-term projects, which has been identified to be instrumental to government capacity building. Nevertheless, critics of DC point out that cities miss crucial knowhow for conducting sustainable and effective development projects and thus local government engagement within the development sector is disputed in the literature as both benefits as well as risks are highlighted.

I had the chance to do research on this C2CPP because of my former employment at the Asylum Organization of Zurich, AOZ, where I was working until the beginning of this Master’s program in September 2018. My former employer, Thomas Schmutz, head of the communication department of the AOZ, is part of Zurich’s project-team for the C2CPP. In late October 2018, I accompanied him to Tyre for a one-week field visit. Due to this previous contact, I already received some insight into the partnership and access to the involved partners. I then conducted field-research from January to March 2019 in Tyre and Zurich. Further, due to my current employment within the C2CPP, I travelled to Tyre again in May 2019. This thesis is based on

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the data I collected during the official fieldwork period from January until March 2019 and complemented by insights I gained through participatory observation during the other two visits.

1.1. Gap in academic knowledge

The C2CPP between Tyre and Zurich offers an especially interesting case to study DC, as in Tyre, several non-state actors are involved in delivering public services besides the municipal and the national government. To assist the national as well as the local government, a multitude of national and international non-governmental organisations ((I)NGOs) actively engage in providing public services to different target groups within the city’s population. This engagement and support emerged as a consequence of massive immigration by Palestinians in the 1940s and 1950s due to the Arab-Israeli war as well as the more recent immigration of Syrians following the Syrian armed conflict starting in 2011 (LCRP, 2018; UNRWA, 2018). Additionally, several non-state groups and committees, organized through political and religious affiliations, are significantly involved in shaping the national and local decision-making process. This leads to a governance context in Tyre and in Lebanon in general in which multiple actors with different resources on different levels take part in delivering public services. This multitude of involved actors, the variety of interests present and the habitual formed structures of interactions within the current service-delivery system make up a very specific context for the C2CPP. Therefore, it is crucial to identify potential benefits of and challenges to this C2CPP paying particular attention to this multilevel governance that has, to the best of my knowledge, not been reflected on in previous research on DC. In a context where already a variety of development-agents are active, the purpose of this thesis is to understand how the C2CPP is situated within this governance context and what the specific benefits of a partnership with a Western-European local government can be. I hope to make a contribution to the academic discussion on DC as well as arrive to conclusions, which allow for the formulation of recommendations for the further development of this C2CPP and for similar projects.

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1.2. Research questions

To approach the above-mentioned gap in academic knowledge, this thesis aims at answering the following research question:

Main research question

How is the city-to-city project partnership between Zurich and Tyre situated within the multilevel governance context Tyre and what is its potential for being instrumental to mutual local government capacity building, taking into account their respective governance contexts?1

To answer the main research questions, the following sub-questions are guiding this research: Sub-research questions

(1) Who are the key actors operating at the local level of the Tyre urban area in delivering public services, what roles do they play and how are they interlinked?

(2) What are the objectives of the partners involved to engage in this partnership and how is this engagement situated within their wider political agendas?2

(3) What are the partnership-conditions between the involved actors and how do they influence the C2CPP?

(4) How is mutual government capacity building understood and addressed within the partnership and how is this linked to possible capacity gaps of the two local governments?

1_{During the fieldwork period of this research (January - March 2019) and my field-visits in October 2018 and May}

2019, the C2CPP was still ongoing and no final results could be researched. This thesis therefore focuses on the on-going collaboration, the perspectives of various actors and the potential of the C2CPP’s capacity building efforts. Though mutual learning is one of the asserted goals, the C2CPP’s capacity building efforts are so far directed more towards Tyre, financially and in terms of knowledge exchange. At the current stage of the partnership, there is no clear evidence yet for learning for Zurich. Therefore, this thesis concentrates more on the potential of learning for Tyre.

2_{In the analysis (chapter 5) I define the political agenda of the partners to be their general strategy for development.} From this agenda, the motivation to engage in the C2CPP stems and consequently, they want to achieve specific objectives with this engagement. Therefore, I understand there to be a hierarchy in the usage of the terms agenda, motivation and objective whereby one follows from the previous one but not vice versa.

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1.3. Choice of case study and limitations

This study focuses on the C2CPP between Tyre and Zurich as a case study of DC. It analyzes the partnership by taking into account both governance contexts and tries to understand how this partnership is situated and influenced by the respective governance contexts of the two cities. This thesis aims at contributing to the scarce academic literature on the interplay between DC and government capacity building by focusing on DC in a multilevel governance context, therefore linking the findings of this study to the present academic discourse. However, it does not include in-depth comparisons to other cases of DC.

1.4. Thesis outline

This thesis is structured in seven chapters. Following this chapter, in chapter two, the key concepts and the consequent preliminary conceptual scheme with which the research was approached are presented. Chapter three gives an overview of the methodology of this research, including the research paradigm, the operationalization, the sampling and data collection methods and the data analysis method. It further includes relevant ethical considerations and reflections on the author’s positionality. In chapters four and five, the data collected during the fieldwork is presented and analyzed with respect to both governance contexts and the C2CPP. Chapter six focuses on the interplay of the governance contexts and the C2CPP and a refined conceptual scheme is presented. In the final chapter the findings of this research are discussed and put into context with previous research, thus aiming at filling the knowledge-gap (see paragraph 1.2). It provides recommendations both for further research and practical policy recommendations.

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2. Theoretical framework

In this chapter, the key concepts underlying this research are presented. First, the concept of decentralized cooperation (DC) is introduced (2.1). Following, two theoretical approaches on governance are presented, the multilevel governance approach (2.2.1) and the collaborative governance approach (2.2.2). Third, the concept of government capacity building is introduced (2.3). Finally, the preliminary conceptual scheme is put forward (2.4).

2.1. Decentralized cooperation

DC emerged in the late 1980s3_{from development agents’ pursuit of finding alternative}

development instruments following their recognition of limitations of other approaches in realizing certain development projects and goals. These included a lack of experience of supervising long-term projects or diffuse budgeting that lead to confused donation-flows (Hafteck, 2003; UNCDF, 2007). At the same time, a general tendency in the Western World towards subsidiarity combined with rising demands for a leaner state administration gave further space for new actors in the development sector. As the benefits of city-to-city (C2C) cooperation started to be acknowledged in international development work, local governments became increasingly accepted as relevant players (Hafteck, 2003; Bontenbal, 2009a, pp. 73-74). This intensified when C2C evolved from focusing mainly on cultural exchange to an instrument for “technical cooperation and capacity building” (De Villiers et al., 2006, pp. 9; also supported by De Villiers, 2009; van Lindert 2009; Akerkar 2015; Grupstra & van Eerdt, 2017, pp. 11-12). More recently and in connection with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda by the United Nations, local and regional governments are recognized as key actors in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). DC is highlighted as being an effective way for peer-to-peer exchange on the implementation of policies concerning public services (Curtis & Acuto, 2018; OECD, 2018).

While different definitions of DC exist, common characteristics can be identified: (1) Local governments are the main actors; (2) DC pursues development at the local level by (3) exchanging knowledge and/or monetary assistance and (4) including non-state local actors such as the civil-society, NGOs and private sector firms (Hafteck, 2003, p. 336; Nganje, 2015). DC in the form of C2C cooperation, also known as sister cities or twinning, can exist as so-called

3_{Municipal partnerships were already established after World War II to foster peace building in Europe (for a} detailed overview see for example De Villiers et al., 2007).

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north-north partnerships, north-south and, increasingly, as south-south partnerships. Besides C2C, a variety of transnational municipal networks exist which try to enhance DC and the role of local governments in the development practice (Fünfgeld, 2015, p. 68; Grupstra and van Eerdt, 2017, p. 8).

According to relevant literature, DC, as defined above, has several advantages in comparison to other forms of development-cooperation. Local governments have unique expertise in local service delivery; they are accustomed to long-term budgeting and in the habit of including non-state actors in the decision-making process. The voluntary nature of C2C is specific (although not unique) in the development context. However, this makes C2C highly dependent on local political support and therefore vulnerable to changes in the political power structures (Hafteck, 2003; Nganje, 2015, p. 3; Bardot et al., 2018). C2C have been recognized as being conducive to local government capacity building, institutional strengthening and sustainable budgeting. Their potentially high responsiveness to citizens’ needs is highlighted in relevant literature (Hewitt, 2002; Bontenbal & van Lindert, 2008; Bontenbal, 2009b). Additionally, C2C tend to focus on more tangible development-issues with a direct impact on the local communities. They foster friendship and mutual trust between the involved partners due to their inherent “colleague-to-colleague” approach (van Ewijk, 2013, p. 19). This peer-to-peer exchange offers the possibility for a more equal exchange and relationship than traditional donor-recipient relations do. The consequent equality between the partners can potentially lead to mutual benefits for both cities, which go further than solely normative affirmations of mutuality but can lead to concrete reciprocally beneficial outcomes (Bontenbal, 2009a). Nevertheless, DC is also contested in academic literature. Critics argue that local governments, though specialized on local-government issues, lack the required professional knowledge on the governance context in the partner-city that is needed for effective development-cooperation (van Ewijk, 2013). This can lead to dissimilarities in priorities and proposed solutions between the partners (OECD, 2018). Lacks of coordination within the partnerships have often reduced the effectiveness and efficiency of efforts within DC. Additionally, the absence of an adequate framework for the follow-up evaluation of efforts within DC can lead to diffuse results (Bontenbal, 2009a). DC efforts risk being left isolated from other levels and entities within the development framework in place in a country. Gaining access to the existing framework of actors can be difficult for an external local government without previous relations to other development actors (OECD, 2018).

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For north-south C2Cs, Bontenbal (2009a, pp. 135-148) identified four factors on behalf of the Northern local government, which can be instrumental to overcome the challenges to successful cooperation and make the C2C more robust: (1) Profound anchorage of the C2C in a municipal strategy for international cooperation, serving several municipal objectives and its connection to a political mandate; (2) Adequate human resources for the supervision of the C2C, both in terms of quality and availability; (3) The availability of adequate funding for the C2C: External funding makes the C2C less dependent on political preferences within the Northern municipality; (4) High level of political and administrative support for the C2C, including support of political leaders is crucial to sustain a C2C. On behalf of the Southern local government, she identified the following factors as being instrumental for a successful partnership: (1) Interest and (political) support for the C2C and (2) an adequate municipal structure, such as a municipal international department, to engage in the partnership. Further, (3) a high correspondence between the C2C’s means for intervention and the actual challenges of the southern government and its development objectives and strategies, she found to be relevant for successful cooperation (Bontenbal, 2009a, pp. 148-165). Other scholars confirmed these findings (van Ewijk, 2008; van Lindert, 2009; van Ewijk, 2013; Grupstra & van Eerdt, 2017).

Good conditions between the involved partners are essential for a successful partnership. According to relevant literature, strong personal relations, a common vision and goal, interactions based on equality, the partners’ willingness to evaluate the partnership, public participation and commitment to a lasting relation between the partners have a positive influence on the success of a partnership (Hewitt, 2002; Bontenbal, 2009a). The partners’ willingness to stay open and flexible during the partnership and to respect the diversity between the actors fosters the building of relations based on trust and respect (Robinson et al., 2000). Additionally, when a C2C aims at mutual exchange, it is important that the objectives of both partners are addressed coherently in the partnership (van Ewijk, 2013).

2.2. Governance

In policy-oriented research, governance has “emerged as an analytical and normative tool. Governance can refer to actors and networks (the underlying powers, the relationships); the process, architecture and structure of governance (formal and informal norms and rules); and the quality of governance” (Gupta et al., 2015, p. 28). Using governance as an analytical tool allows focusing on both, the formal and informal processes and actors involved in ruling and managing societies.

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In order to thoroughly understand the governance contexts in which the C2CPP between Tyre and Zurich is situated and how they influence the partnership, it is crucial to identify the main actors involved in governance-processes in both cities and how they engage with each other. Different definitions of the term governance exist in academic literature, depending on the number of actors in focus, the assumed or real hierarchy and the mode of interaction between them. In the following two paragraphs, the analytical lenses of multilevel governance (MLG) and collaborative governance (CG) are presented.

2.2.1. Multilevel governance

Both local governments, Zurich and Tyre, are formally situated between their national and regional governments and the local society. They provide certain public services autonomously while relying or depending on national policies as well as actions of non-state actors for other, more resource-demanding services. I argue that the analytical lens of MLG is well suited to adequately take into account the variety of actors and interests involved in the two complex and negotiated public service delivery systems. Originally, MLG has mainly been used to analyze the dynamics of European Integration and the power-constellations within the contemporary EU (e.g. Benz, 2007; Piattoni, 2010). However, by now, MLG has been applied to various non-European international or national settings (Bache & Flinders, 2004; Bache et al., 2016). Even though several definitions of MLG exist in the literature, common core characteristics can be defined: MLG recognizes that in ruling and managing societies: (1) Different levels of government are involved and authority is transferred away from the central government vertically; (2) Non-governmental actors can be substantially involved in the decision-making process through policy-networks at all levels, thus transferring authority away from the national government also horizontally (Papadopoulos, 2010); (3) Also other, heterogeneous and non-hierarchical networks of independent actors can be involved. As a consequence of these dynamics, (4) MLG challenges clear democratic accountability because authority is dispersed (Hooghe & Marks, 2003 & 2004; Bache & Flinders, 2004; Bache et al., 2016; Caponio & Jones-Correa, 2018). It therefore questions the classical vertical or hierarchical understanding of power distributions in states and assumes interdependence between the involved actors for implementing policies. It further postulates that these actors constantly bargain and negotiate during the decision-making process while interdependence is assumed (Caponio & Jones-Correa, 2018, p. 2006; Stephenson, 2013). For effective policy-making, all actors have to be involved (Papadopoulos, 2010). Several authors have introduced means to distinguish between different types of MLG. For this thesis however, I will proceed without a further differentiation of the

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concept of MLG. Essential to this thesis are the dynamics at the municipal level in Tyre that result from this MLG context, which might influence the potential of the C2CPP in focus. Therefore, I mainly use the MLG concept as a descriptive and analytical tool for depicting the governance dynamics in Tyre and analyzing the resulting framework of the C2CPP.

The lens of MGL can be instrumental in analyzing how migration policies are negotiated between different levels and forms of authority in terms of transferring duties and responsibilities (Scholten & Penninx, 2016; Caponio & Jones-Correa, 2018). Fakhoury (2018) uses an MLG-approach to analyze the refugee-response in the Arab-region on a supranational level. She shows how migration policies were negotiated between states and international-organisations by transferring responsibilities upwards and thus sheds light into the strong linkages between migration policies and geopolitical interests in the region. While these dynamics surely have influenced the Lebanese national response to the Syrian refugee crisis, the supranational level is set-aside in this thesis. The focus lies on how this national response in connection to the presence of (I)NGOs in structures “resembling those of a state but without any domestic political accountability” (Brand & Lynch, 2017), has influenced today’s position of Lebanese municipalities, with a focus on Tyre (paragraphs 4.1 & 4.2).

2.2.2. Collaborative governance in multi-actor arrangements

To adequately grasp the form of collaboration within the C2CPP (chapter 5) and the change in (I)NGOs’ tactics for enhanced project-sustainability (paragraph 4.2.4), I introduce the model of collaborative governance (CG) as presented by Ansell & Gash (2007). The authors define collaborative governance as “a governing arrangement where one or more public agencies directly engage non-state stakeholders in a collective decision-making process that is formal, consensus-oriented and deliberative and that aims to make or implement public policy or manage public programs or assets” (Ansell & Gash, 2007, p. 544). CG focuses on multi-actor arrangements where the actors, through open deliberation, decide on public policies (Rasche, 2010). For real GC, six criteria have to be mutually present: (1) The forum for collaboration is initiated by public agents; (2) Non-governmental actors are included; (3) All participants engage directly in the decision-making process and not as consultants; (4) The actors meet officially in a formally organized forum; (5) They aim at reaching decisions in consensus and (6) the actors collaborate with a focus on public policy. For a successful collaborative process the authors identify the following criteria to be essential: the building of trust, mutual commitment to the process of decision-making, a shared understanding concerning the mission, the problem

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definition and common values, a focus on intermediate outcomes and face-to-face dialogue. While other scholars have slightly adapted the model of Ansell and Gash (2007), they supported these criteria for successful collaboration (e.g. Emerson et al., 2011).

The concepts of multilevel and collaborative governance are not mutually exclusive and have also been combined by scholars for the analysis of governance arrangements (e.g. Gibson, 2011). Both concepts, MLG and CG, allow for the inclusion of state and non-governmental actors in the analysis, on different levels with different resources. They assume interdependence between the actors for effective decision-making. However, they differ in their focus. Multilevel governance focuses on the dispersion of authority away from the national government, both vertically to other levels of government and horizontally to policy-networks including non-state actors, the consequent negotiations and bargain between the actors and the diffusion of accountability. Collaborative governance assumes that a forum of mutual decision-making is built around these existing conditions and incorporates them, but is geared towards consensus between the actors through open deliberation.

2.3. Government capacity building

As outlined above, DC in the form of C2C partnerships has been identified to be uniquely instrumental to local government capacity building (GCB). Jones and Blunt (1999, p. 382) define capacity building as the improvement of the performance and capacity of organisations or individuals “to develop new capabilities independently; that is, their ability to learn from and adapt to their environments.” This definition has to be adjusted to the specific contexts in which organizations or individuals are situated and towards the tasks or goals their capacity should be strengthened.

Applied to local governments, capacity building of individuals (relevant stakeholders such as decision-makers, managers or technicians) needs to be combined with organisational and institutional capacity building. Organisational capacity building refers to changing management practices and procedures, rules and regulations that constrain the way of local decision-making. These can be the absence of human capital, material, logistical or institutional constraints or the absence of incentives for a local government to improve its performance (UNCDF, 2007). Institutional capacity building refers to legal and regulatory changes to help enable any kind of agency to be active and take responsibility. Institutional changes for local government capacity building are often within the authority of national governments. For capacity building efforts to

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be most effective, individual, organizational and institutional capacity building should be integrated within one approach. Only in combination, a full picture of the constraints on a local government can be gained and approached coherently (Wakely, 2016).

In order for capacity-building efforts to be in line with the actual challenges a local government faces, “capacity gaps” of a local government in connection to its current and foreseeable challenges have to be clearly identified (Vincent and Stephen, 2015). Effective capacity building of a local government therefore requires a thorough understanding of its context with respect to its institutional and organisational dimensions as well as of its human resources. In this thesis, specific attention is paid to the form of capacity building the C2CPP targets, whether these efforts jointly address institutional, organizational and individual capacity gaps, how the efforts are connected to the actual thematic challenges of the governments and how they are embedded and shared within the institutions.

More recently, capacity building has been replaced by the term “capacity development” to emphasize the fact that the capacities are not newly built but developed further based on existing knowledge (European Parliament, 2017). I will use the term capacity building in this thesis, as this is the most commonly used, while I acknowledge that the term refers to building on existing capacities.

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2.4. Preliminary conceptual scheme

Figure 1: Preliminary conceptual scheme (compiled by the author)

Figure 1 depicts the preliminary conceptual scheme of this thesis. In focus is the C2CPP between the two local governments with the role of UN Habitat as a facilitator for this direct relationship (decentralized cooperation) and its aim of mutual government capacity building. It shows the localization of the two local governments between their respective national governments and their populations. The body of (I)NGOs assisting Tyre in the delivery of public services to its population is illustrated. In this scheme, the dispersion of authority vertically, towards lower levels of government is illustrated. The horizontal dispersion of authority, towards policy-networks including non-state actors is assumed and depicted by the body of (I)NGOs assisting the Lebanese governmental bodies in the provision of public services. This analysis aims at a clarification of how these actors cooperate. In chapters 4-6, the interplay of these concepts in the case study is analysed. Consequently, a refined conceptual scheme is presented (figure 5, p.65) which includes, contrary to this scheme, collaborative governance arrangements. Table 1 summarizes the working definitions of the four key concepts for this research.

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Table 1: Working definitions of the key concepts Decentralized cooperation (DC)

“A collaborative relationship between sub-national governments from different countries, aiming at sustainable local development, implying some form of exchange or support carried out by these institutions or other locally based actors.”

(Hafteck, 2003, p.336)

Multilevel governance (MLG)

A governance context, in which different levels of government are involved in ruling and managing societies, as well as non-governmental actors on different levels. This variety of actors are interconnected and together shape the process of ruling and managing societies through bargain and negotiation in the decision-making process.

(Following Caponio & Jones-Correa, 2018, p.2006) Collaborative governance (CG)

“A governing arrangement where one or more public agencies directly engage non-state stakeholders in a collective decision-making process that is formal, consensus-oriented and deliberative and that aims to make or implement public policy or manage public programs or assets.”

(Ansell & Gash, 2007, p. 544)

Government capacity building (GCB)

The strengthening of public institutions, either through strengthening its human or organisational resources or changes of institutional arrangements for the specific task of public institutions to manage societies through their performance of public responsibilities and the provision of public services.

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3. Methodology

In this chapter, the unit of analysis (3.1), the research paradigm (3.2), the operationalization (3.3), the sampling (3.4) and data-collection methods (3.5) are presented. Then, the method for data analysis (3.6) is discussed. The chapter concludes with methodological (3.7) and ethical reflections (3.8). The research locations are described in chapter 4.

3.1. Unit of analysis

The unit of analysis of this thesis is the on-going collaboration between the two local governments in the form of a C2CPP. In order to thoroughly analyze this collaboration, the contexts of the two cities have to be understood and taken into account to study how municipal governments are nested within their governance contexts and connected to other relevant actors. This especially applies for the context of Tyre on which the collaboration mainly focuses so far. Therefore, an important aspect of the fieldwork in Tyre was to conduct interviews with relevant external stakeholders (mainly (I)NGOs) who are involved in the public service delivery system for the population of the Tyre urban area.

3.2. Research paradigm

In this research, I followed a pragmatic research paradigm. The research is centred on the problem statement as outlined in paragraph 1.1. The main goal of the research is to arrive at an in-depth understanding of the C2CPP between Tyre and Zurich with relation to the respective governance contexts and in doing so, contribute to the academic discussion on DC. Following a pragmatic research paradigm allows for different ontological and epistemological understandings and assumptions to be included in the research (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006, p. 6). This is indispensible for arriving at a thorough understanding of this collaboration between two cities situated in different parts of the world and influenced by different governance contexts.

3.3. Operationalization of major concepts

Three of the major concepts of this study have been operationalized as presented in the operationalization table in annex III. This shows how they have been applied in this study. The operationalization formed the basis for the interview questions (annex II). Each concept was subdivided into dimensions, variables and, where applicable, directly into indicators and questions. Collaborative Governance (CG) was not operationalized in this table but only

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included in the research during the analysis of the data when I realized that the concept of MLG does not match the way of interaction in the multi-actor arrangements of the service provision system in Tyre. The current sustainability-enhancing strategies of (I)NGOs in their cooperation with the local governments in the Tyre area (paragraph 4.2.4) and the way of interaction within the C2CPP (chapter 5) are analyzed by using the collaborative governance approach.

3.4. Sampling

First, through convenience sampling I contacted the directly involved partners in the C2CPP to whom I already had access. As expected, I was able to use snowball sampling afterwards to get access to other stakeholders in both municipalities. In Lebanon, I did not talk to government representatives of the regional and national level, due to a lack of access and time constraints. In Switzerland, I also did not include representatives of the regional or the national level. However, I did talk to a representative of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) office in Lebanon. Including the view of these levels of government, especially on the Lebanese side, would have been relevant because the C2CPP targets the mismatch between municipal resources and municipal tasks, which is a consequence of the national legislation (see paragraph 4.1). I would recommend to do so in a future study.

3.5. Data collection methods

In this thesis, I use a case study approach to analyse the ongoing C2CPP between Tyre and Zurich. In a case study both the contemporary phenomenon, here the C2CPP, and its context can be covered (Yin, 1981, p. 98). Given that the focus of this thesis lies on the interplay between the C2CPP and its contexts, a case study is the most suitable research design. This study is a single case design and only focuses on one partnership. For this research I used qualitative data collection methods to arrive at a thorough understanding of the C2CPP, the main unit of analysis, by including a variety of views on and perceptions of the partnership, both from partners directly involved in the partnership as well as from external stakeholders. I focused on conducting semi-structured expert interviews, document analysis and participatory observation. A pragmatic research paradigm allowed me to combine different data collection methods, which made triangulation of data possible (Bryman, 2012, p. 392).

3.5.1. Semi-structured expert interviews

I conducted 23 semi-structured expert interviews with stakeholders in both research locations of which 20 were formal interviews and three informal. In total, I talked to 30 individuals. In some interviews, more than one person participated. Conducting semi-structured interviews allowed

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me to focus on my research questions while staying open enough to seek out the perspectives of my research participants connected to the C2CPP and the respective contexts, including unforeseen topics (Bryman, 2012, p. 498). I understand the interviews to all have been expert-interviews because I talked to either local government officials or representatives of (I)NGOs in their official role. All of them have several years of professional experience and a profound knowledge of the contexts they were working in. I did not include citizens of Tyre or Zurich, organised in the framework of the C2CPP as target groups of interventions, because there are no practical consequences yet of the C2CPP for a specific target group.

3.5.2. Document analysis

Besides interviews, I analyzed documents connected to the C2CPP and more generally, the cities’ engagement within decentralized cooperation and public service delivery. These included the formal agreement on the C2CPP, press releases, web-content, policy papers on public service delivery and international cooperation policies. By analysing these documents and comparing them to data from the interviews, I was able to understand what the formal agreement and the official statements to the C2CPP entail and how this evolved and compared to topics actually addressed in the framework of the C2CPP. For Zurich, a variety of policy papers by the municipality were accessible. For Tyre, there were no municipal policy-papers accessible or available. Therefore, I conducted an extensive review of relevant policy-briefs and blog-posts by non-governmental actors to be able to complement the data I received from the interviews in Tyre.

3.5.3. Participatory observation

During my stay in Tyre in October 2018, which could be seen as a first exploration rather than my fieldwork, I was part of several fieldtrips, receptions and dinners where the partnership was discussed both formally and informally. The information I could gather during these forms of participation helped me in determining the focus and set up of this research. During the two-month fieldwork from January to March 2019, I was again able to participate as an observer in both formal, as well as in informal meetings. Furthermore, a delegation from Zurich came to Tyre by the end of February 2019 and I participated in another fieldtrip in May 2019. During these trips I was part of meetings where further steps of the partnership were discussed. Especially in Tyre, where the context was less familiar to me compared to Zurich, I think participatory observation helped me to understand the role of the different actors and their perceptions of this complex governance context. When being part of meetings where the C2CPP was discussed between the partners, I was able to observe topics related to the content of the

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partnership, the partnership conditions and the way of negotiation between the partners. Contact to other relevant actors during these trips, especially non-state groups and committees, organized through political affiliations, helped me to further improve my understanding of the governance dynamics in Tyre.

3.6. Data analysis method

During the fieldwork, I transcribed the interviews and identified the main topics. This allowed me to conduct follow up interviews if I felt this was necessary. To keep an overview on the main topics and storylines I worked with the program Atlas.ti. To analyze the data, I made use of thematic content analysis. I used a set of predefined codes based on my semi-structured interview-guides and the operationalization but allowed for open coding or adjustment of codes where necessary, for example in depicting the collaborative governance dynamics. Here I combined a deductive approach to data coding with an inductive approach (Braun & Clarke, 2012, p. 58). I arrived at a saturation of findings already in the field, which was confirmed during coding. Through a consistent, systematic application of the codes, I ensured objectivity as much as possible (Bryman, 2012, p. 289). I coded in two steps. First, I searched for the main topics across the data. Second, I tried to combine these topics into themes and identify orders between them so that “the themes provide a coherent overall story” (Braun & Clarke, 2012, p. 66). In writing up the empirical part of this thesis, I tried to ensure coherence between the use of the themes as well as between the set-up of the empirical chapters, the themes and the research questions.

3.7. Methodological reflections

The data in use stems from 20 formal structured expert-interviews, three informal semi-structured expert-interviews, document analysis of official documents from the partnership, policy-briefs and strategies published by either Tyre, Zurich, UN Habitat or other (I)NGOs. In October 2018, during fieldwork (February 2019) and in May 2019, I was part of several fieldtrips and meetings and in Tyre, regularly visited the municipality’s office and therefore have extensive field notes, which complement the data. This thesis is based only on qualitative research. Therefore, I use the alternative set of quality-criteria for qualitative research as suggested by Bryman (2012, chapter 17).

Concerning trustworthiness of the research, I reflect on credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of the findings. To ensure credibility, I interviewed representatives of different stakeholders in the partnership in their professional role, thus including a variety of

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perspectives. All the respondents have several years of professional experience within the context of Tyre, Zurich or on DC. I therefore consider them experts on these subjects. In the field, I arrived at a saturation of findings and triangulated these with findings from document analysis. Through open communication about the content of the research to all interviewees as well as sending my proposal to the partners of the C2CPP in advance, I ensured that the respondents had full knowledge of my research. I communicated that I am interested in the critical aspects of the cooperation-dynamics between the actors in Tyre. I used a predefined interview structure in the interviews. However, I adapted the questions to the setting and the participants had the possibility to decide which aspects they wanted to mention in the interview. My research focuses on the specific context of Tyre. As discussed in paragraph 4.2, the way a municipality functions is highly shaped by individuals in key-positions. Therefore my findings are very specific to Tyre. Direct transferability to other contexts is not possible. Nevertheless, the findings can be used as recommendations for research on DC in similar contexts (7.4) where multilevel governance prevails and local government structures are weak in terms of financial and human resources but nevertheless crucial for sustainable local interventions. To reduce dependability, I ensured high transparency about the research-process through open communication. Being an independent researcher and not part of the governance system in Tyre or Zurich allowed me to do so. Nevertheless, dependability cannot be ruled out. I think especially my Swiss nationality influenced the answers of respondents. There are no historical ties between Lebanon and Switzerland and Switzerland is not one of the main donor-countries. Interestingly, the well-known Swiss political neutrality was often transferred to me as a person and articulated in this way. To ensure objectivity, I triangulated the interview-data on the context with data from document analysis and literature review. Further, I discussed preliminary findings with a researcher attached to the University of Utrecht who is familiar with the Tyre-area. Concerning the data on the partnership, I consulted experts on partnerships between French and Lebanese municipalities working at the Bureau Technique des Villes Libanaise in Beirut, the regional branch of the network United Cities Local Governments. I included this information in the analysis of the partnership. Paragraph 3.8 presents extended reflections on my positionality as a researcher.

I ensured authenticity, in terms of fairness, by including the perspectives of a variety of stakeholders in the research. However, I was not able to interview representatives of the national government in Lebanon or its regional deputies. This view on the partnership and on the municipal context is missing. I tried to overcome this lack through profound description of the

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Tyre governance context (4.1 & 4.2) combining the field-data with an extensive literature review. My research aims at assisting the partners in arriving at a better understanding of the context-specifics of the partnership. Therefore, the partners will receive this thesis and a policy-brief based on the findings of this research.

3.8. Ethical considerations & positionality

This research is based on qualitative data collection by conducting semi-structured expert interviews. Consequently, a number of ethical aspects needed to be considered. To ensure informed consent, I gave the participants full disclosure on the research and informed them that participation is purely voluntary. I offered sending the transcripts of the interviews to them. However, all participants declined this option and we agreed that I send them the direct quotes in use for their approval. Power imbalances within the C2CPP and religious or political dynamics influencing the governance context in Tyre were sometimes sensitive to discuss. I ensured safety in participation by offering to turn off the recorder if the interviewee wished. This happened twice. In the thesis, the interviewees’ names are not included, only their role and type of organization they represented. For this research, I focused on the perspectives of the organizations the interviewees represented and not on their individual opinions. Confidential content helped me to understand certain dynamics influencing the context, especially in Tyre. However, the analysis of the context and the C2CPP is based on the official data and therefore confidential information is not included in this thesis.

Before starting this Master’s degree, I worked for the AOZ for two years. My former employer is a member of the Zurich project-team for this C2CPP. Further, since March 2019, I am employed by the city of Zurich for the C2CPP to organize two study-tours for Swiss refugee reception experts to Tyre in October 2019 and April 2020. This connection influences my positionality and approach to this research in two ways. First, the governance context in Zurich is highly familiar to me and consequently, it might be possible that I am less critical and reflective towards it than I am towards Tyre. Second, through the employment I had the chance to be part of the Zurich project-team’s trips to Tyre in October 2018, February 2019 (during fieldwork) and May 2019, additional to the fieldwork period. Therefore, I had another access to the partnership besides being a researcher. However, I do not consider my employment to have biased me towards Zurich. As shown in chapter 5, the partners’ goals align and the partnership is based on strong partnership-conditions and mostly open communication. The employment gave me more direct and close access to the partnership and allowed me to observe the development of the

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partnership beyond the time in the field. This deepened my understanding of the partnership and helped me relate the data from the single interviews to the context. I argue that this was instrumental to arrive at a sound, consistent analysis of the C2CPP rather than at a snapshot.

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4. The governance contexts of Tyre and Zurich

This chapter presents the governance dynamics relevant to the C2CPP in Tyre and Zurich. First, a brief introduction into migration-policies in Lebanon shaped by (inter-) national and regional power dynamics is given (4.1). This is necessary to arrive at an understanding of the current situation of Lebanese municipalities in terms of financial and human resources as well as their relationship to the national governmental bodies and (I)NGOs. Second, drawing from data from the field4 and from document analysis, the main dynamics between state and non-state actors shaping the current governance context in Tyre are presented (4.2 & 4.3). Subsequently, the governance context of Zurich relevant to the C2CPP is presented (4.4).

4.1. Lebanon’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis & municipal capacities

“I think in Lebanon the municipalities see themselves as a provider of work on the roads, electricity, sewage etc. those main services. (...) But I do not think that they see their mandate higher than that. Like really doing social projects (...). Not because they do not specifically have the will but because they didn't received the necessary capacity building and resources. And I think that it is mainly the (I)NGOs and the UN-Agencies with funds from international donors who have the capacity to support and finance this type of interventions for a certain period of time, 'project period' of 2 or 3 years, that can be renewed if donors see it relevant. However, if these social needs persist in the long term, the governance challenges, the lack of human and financial resources at the level of municipalities, make it difficult for them to integrate and sustain such interventions within their mandate. So even though the municipalities in Lebanon are seen as a decentralized authority that by law has prerogatives related to social interventions, they do not operate as a decentralized municipality that governs like in a developed country, this is not the case in Lebanon.”5

4 _{The field-data in use consists of semi-structured expert-interviews, conducted between January and March 2019,} with representatives from Tyre, the UoT and the following national and international NGOs and UN-bodies: the local NGO Social, Humanitarian, Economic Intervention for Local Development (Sheild), the Bureau technique des Villes Libanais (BTVL); CTM-Onlus; INTERSOS; Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC); The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat); the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). It is complemented by field notes in October 2018, January-March 2019 and May 2019.

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Starting in 2011, the Syrian war has led to massive immigration of Syrian refugees to Lebanon. Still in 2019, Lebanon is the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita in the world. While around 950’000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon are registered with UNHCR, the Lebanese government estimates the actual number to be at 1.5 million displaced persons (UNHCR, 2019). As Lebanon has never signed the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention, there is no domestic legislation that applies to the specific protection of refugees and asylum seekers. Consequently Syrians are framed as “displaced people” (UNHCR, 2013). Several scholars have characterized the Lebanese government’s response in the first years of the crisis as passive. Ad-hoc policies and ambiguous institutional rules created uncertainty through legal grey zones and scattered interventions by (I)NGOs on which the Lebanese government heavily relied (Fakhoury, 2017; Nassar & Stel, 2019). Security, geopolitical and religious concerns in combination with poor governance practices and the habit of dependence on non-state entities are indicated as reasons for this passive conduct of the government and the resulting dynamics (Cammett, 2015; Fakhoury, 2017 & 2018; Nassar & Stel, 2019).

Efforts for coordination between different national governmental bodies and (I)NGOs were stepped up in 2013. By the end of 2014, they resulted in the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, LCRP. However, as a result of this delay, municipalities and Unions of municipalities (UoM) became unofficially responsible for most practical issues of hosting Syrians. Thus they have been highly affected by the presence of Syrian refugees since 2011, through an increasing pressure on infrastructure, waste management, education, health and rising security demands (DRI, 2017a). The Lebanese municipalities’ limited human and financial resources complicated this task. It has been argued that for municipalities to play a relevant role in service provision structural reforms for effective municipal empowerment would need to precede such a shift of responsibilities (Atallah, 2016). Municipalities and Unions managed this challenge in coordination with and through the (financial) support of (I)NGOs (Boustani, 2014; Boustani et al., 2016). However, the municipalities’ limited resources, time consuming administrative procedures and political interests of the local authorities or of (I)NGOs restricted effective and thematic collaboration between (I)NGOs and municipalities (Boustani et al., 2016).

Reasons for the weak municipal resources can be found in the Lebanese government’s structure and the interactions between different governmental levels. Lebanon’s 1038 municipalities are administratively organized in 25 Qadas, which are then united in 6 separate Muhafazats or Governorates. The Muhafiz, presiding over the Governorates and the Qa’immaqam, presiding

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over the Qada are appointed by the national government. Their main task is to implement political directives and laws of the central government. They report directly to the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (Salamey, 2014, p. 153). Municipalities are the smallest administrative units and the only autonomous elected body in Lebanon. The citizens registered in a municipality elect the decision-making body, the municipal council, for a period of six years. The council then elects the mayor. The Municipal Act of 1977 regulates the municipal tasks and responsibilities. According to the Municipal Act, municipalities are provided with significant independence to manage their territories. Subsequent sections however impose several legal restrictions, which weaken the municipalities’ position, especially concerning their capacity for budgeting and issuing transactions by giving the power of decision-making to the Qa’immaqam or the Muhafiz (Municipal Act, 1977; Haase & Antoun, 2015, pp. 197-198; Harb & Atallah, 2015; BTVL, 2017). Additional to these legal constraints, municipalities rely financially on transfers by the national government from the Independent Municipal Fund, which are issued irregularly and with delay (Salamey, 2014, p. 154). Though municipalities can collect direct local taxes and fees, often only larger municipalities succeed in doing so due to a lack of trained staff for tax collection. This can be described as a vicious cycle whereby a lack of staff leads to a lack of resources, the two factors reinforcing each other (Atallah, 2012; Mercy Corps, 2014; Mourad & Piron, 2016). In sum, “a wide gap between what municipalities are allowed to do by law, and what they are actually able to do, given their resources” is identified (Harb & Atallah, 2015, p. 200).

To overcome these obstacles, around 75 percent of the municipalities are united in Unions (DRI, 2017b). The purpose of a Union is to facilitate projects that affect several municipalities such as connecting roads or garbage systems (Municipal Act, 1977). In Unions, municipalities can pool their resources to improve coordination, hence filling the gaps in the realm of developmental policies that are created by the national government (DRI, 2017b). However, Unions face similar challenges as municipalities. They lack sufficient and sufficiently trained staff and they are marked by a lack of financial resources due to the financial limitations of their member-municipalities as well as the dependence on the Independent Municipal Fund (Attalah, 2012; DRI, 2017b). Further, administrative obstacles for strengthening municipal as well as Unions’ resources prevail. One is the above-mentioned financial dependency on transfers by the Independent Municipal Fund. Another one concerns the lengthy and complex procedure of hiring additional staff. Several approvals from national ministries are required for municipalities or Unions to create new positions within their official structures, which can take up to three

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years to be issued (DRI, 2017a, BTVL, 2017, p. 20). The length of these procedures also depends on political liaisons and good will from national government ministries.6

4.2. Multilevel governance in Tyre

After having briefly introduced the dynamics between Lebanese national and regional government institutions and municipalities in general, this paragraph focuses on the Tyre governance context, the interplay and allocation of tasks between the Tyre municipality, the Union of Tyre municipalities (UoT) and (I)NGOs. This paragraph focuses on sub-research question one.

(1) Who are the key actors operating at the local level of the Tyre urban area in delivering public services, what roles do they play and how are they interlinked?

The findings on the governance context are summarized in paragraph 4.2.5, where an answer to the question is provided. In figure 2 (p. 32), the main governmental and non-governmental actors in Tyre and their relations between each other are visualized, which are described and analysed in detail in the following paragraphs.

According to UN Habitat (2017, pp. 41-42) the population in the Tyre urban area is estimated at around 200’000 people whereby neighbourhoods are included that spread across the borders of the Tyre municipality as well as the three official Palestinian camps in the area of Tyre. This population consists of approximately 42 percent refugees, Palestinian and Syrian.7 Tyre itself is the forth-biggest coastal city in Lebanon and the most southern city before the Lebanese-Israeli border. 55 municipalities out of 63 in the Qada of Tyre are members in the Union of Tyre municipalities (UoT). The mayor of Tyre also heads the UoT and the mayor of Burj Rahhal, a neighbouring municipality of Tyre, acts as deputy head of the Union (UN Habitat, 2017; Transcripts 12&15).

6_{Fieldnotes February & May 2019}

7_{See Knudsen (2018) for an analysis of the convergence of the Palestinian and the Syrian refugee crisis in the Tyre} region.

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Figure 2: Multilevel governance context in Tyre and main actors

Compiled by the author, following van Ewijk (2013, p. 235) and Boustani et al. (2016, p. 15). Figure 2 does not entail the supranational level. Depicted in figure 2 are the national offices of the UN Agencies. Similarly, the donor-countries are also illustrated on the national level as they provide money to the national offices of (I)NGOs.

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4.2.1. Tyre – municipal tasks and the planning challenge

“(…) Even for the power, electricity, the people are calling the municipality (…) for everything. Because, you know, the municipality is the closest entity to the people, we are elected, (…) and you are reachable, easy reachable, you can see it here... Everyone comes… I cannot close the door of my office. It is not the right thing. (…) We cannot close our door because in the mentality (…) of the people, the mayor should be reachable everywhere.”8

This quote by the mayor of Tyre shows how he perceives the municipal tasks and the municipal way of working. The municipality is the main place to go for (Lebanese) citizens if they face any kind of obstacle related to services. Further, it is the responsible unit for minor rehabilitation of infrastructure, for implementing traffic regulations and safety functions within the territory of Tyre. The office of the municipality is highly frequented by citizens whereby these issues would be settled either in formal meetings or through informal discussions in the corridors.9_{The role of}

the mayor is central to the working of the municipal administration. He is the final decision-maker for daily-decisions as well as for the strategic orientation of Tyre (Transcript 12). Representatives of (I)NGOs value how well informed and pragmatic the mayor is about the management of the municipality. He is in-office for the second time. (I)NGO-representatives are positive about this because he has a lot of experience in working together with them and a good understanding of the cooperation-dynamics. However, they rate his double-mandate, being the mayor of Tyre and the head of the UoT, controversially. On the one hand, they say it increases his awareness of the overall challenges of the UoT and the connectedness of those. On the other hand, it also significantly adds to his workload and further decreases his availability for discussions concerning less-pressing projects, which are often crucial for projects to progress (Transcripts 5, 7, 10, 11).

According to several representatives of (I)NGOs, Lebanese mayors generally play a key role in the functioning of municipalities and they strongly shape not only the way a municipality works but also its thematic focus, the implementation of projects and the way of cooperation with (I)NGOs. This leads to fundamental differences between municipalities as the individual mayors arrange and shape all municipal affairs (Transcripts 1-11; UN Habitat, 2017, pp. 28 & 124).

8_{Transcript 12}

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Having the support of the mayor (I)NGO representatives see as “a key factor for succeeding in the project or for the project to be successful and also for the sustainability of the project.”10

Tyre’s municipal council, consisting of 21 elected members, seems to only play a minor role in the cooperation with (I)NGOs as well as in the development of the C2CPP. Its unpaid positions and differing focus might be a reason for this. While well informed about issues related to schooling or health, the consulted councillors could provide only limited information on projects connected to long-term planning such as the C2CPP. According to several councillors, decisions are mostly reached unanimously.11_{The municipality of Tyre employs between 80 and 130}

people. More than half of the staff are policemen. During the touristic-season in summer, the number of policemen employed by the municipality nearly doubles,12 which explains this range in employees of Tyre.

According to the mayor, the most pressing challenge of Tyre is the lack of financial resources for adequate staff specialized on long-term, strategic planning. The mayor finds himself in the vicious cycle described earlier. Due to effective local tax collection compared to other municipalities, financial shortages do not seem to affect the daily management of the city. Consequently, Tyre does not rely on the Regional Technical Office (RTO, see paragraph 4.2.2) for doing assessment-studies or supporting it in the coordination with (I)NGOs. However, funding for enhancing the capacities for strategic planning, from the national government or from (I)NGOs is difficult to access and generally scarce. The mayor rules out the option of increasing the tax-collection rate because citizens currently are said to not be able or willing to pay higher local taxes. According to the mayor, an improvement of municipal services has to anticipate further augmentation of the municipal tax collection rate. For sustainable improvement of the municipal performance, the mayor wishes for “real decentralization”, giving the municipality more financial independence from the national government and decision-making power through structural changes, resolving the above mentioned legal constraints (Transcript 12).

4.2.2. The Union of Tyre municipalities and its regional technical office Unions of municipalities are bodies in which municipalities can pool their resources, enhance coordination between them and improve the cooperation with (I)NGOs and higher governmental

10_{Transcript 3}

11_{Fieldnotes (January-March 2019 & May 2019)} 12_{Fieldnotes (January-March 2019 & May 2019)}

Local government capacity building through decentralized cooperation : a case study on the partnership between Tyre (Lebanon) and Zurich (Switzerland)