Urban Coalitions and Re-scaling of the State (DRAFT PAPER)

This paper looks at the dynamics of urban coalition building in the context of re-scaling of the state. It argues that re-scaling of the state is a process of hegemonic transformation and that a) this process goes hand in hand with a transformation of the axis of interest definition for local actors, thus altering the face of urban politics; b) local politics has become one of the sites which mediates the re-scaling process, as the meeting place of actors defined at various spatial scales; c) and, thus, re-scaling process of the state is associated with changes in the nature of the hegemonic coalition in general. The process of urban coalition building then could be understood as the site of hegemony construction which shifts the balances of power among different fractions of the hegemonic bloc. In that respect, the local business communities become the centre of our attention. Then, this paper discusses the particular role played by local business communities in this re-scaling / re-structuring process of the state. One of the central arguments of this paper is that the re-scaling process results in / promotes / sustain the power imbalances amongst various social actors, and this happens via a re-definition of the means of participation and forms of representation of these actors. In sum, the paper concentrates on one of the significant claims of Brenner, that re-territorialisation of the state and the rise of the cities and regions are parallel processes, and it aims to investigate the links between these two processes