Multilevel governance and cooperation on the case of managing the migrant influx along the Western Balkans route

Magistrsko delo predstavlja tematiko večnivojskega upravljanja in sodelovanja na primeru Slovenije in migrantske krize na Zahodni balkanski poti. Namen dela je ugotoviti, ali je bilo večnivojsko upravljanje na primeru kriznega menedžmenta uspešno ter kaj je pripeljalo do njegove uspešnosti oziroma neuspešnosti. Delo temelji na kvalitativni metodologiji študije primera. V prvem delu s deskriptivno metodo opredeli splošno razvitost večnivojskega upravljanja, v drugem delu pa z analizo virov preuči področje skozi primer največje migrantske krize. Na primeru Slovenije kot preučevanega nacionalnega nivoja s komparativno metodo prikaže pomanjkljivosti sodelovanja z nivoji. Na pomanjkljivostih, ki se skozi raziskovanje prikažejo, delo poda predloge za izboljšanje in reševanje podobnih problematik v prihodnosti. Magistrsko delo prikaže, da večnivojsko upravljanje na omenjenem primeru ni bilo uspešno, saj je bila smer sprejemanja odločitev večinoma usmerjena od zgoraj navzdol, kar je otežilo vključevanje podnacionalnega nivoja v odločevalski proces. Slaba praksa obvladovanja migrantske krize je imela posledice na širši ravni, saj je na eni strani določene postopke reševanja krize otežila in podaljšala, na drugi pa nečela dvom o skupnosti in njenih temeljnih vrednotah. Uporabnost dela se kaže tako na praktični kot na znanstveni ravni. Pri praktični ravni se ta kaže kot pomoč vključenim akterjem na različnih nivojih pri reševanju kriz velikega obsega, pri znanstveni ravni pa pri izbiri tematike ter pri izbiri aktualnega primera. Tematika kot taka je v slovenski znanosti še dokaj neomenjena in neraziskana, podobno velja za področje migrantske krize, ki se s svojo veličino ne bo umirila še nekaj časa.This master\u27s thesis presents the topic of multilevel governance and cooperation on the example of Slovenia and the migrant crisis on the Western Balkans route. The purpose of the work is to determine whether the multilevel governance of the crisis management was successful and what led to its success or failure. The research is based on qualitative case study methodology. In the first part, the descriptive method defines the general development of multilevel governance, while in the second part, the analysis examines the field on the basis of the biggest migrant crisis since World War II. Comparative method shows deficiencies on the national level in cooperation with other levels on the example of Slovenia. On the shortcomings that appear during the research, the master’s thesis presents suggestions for improving and resolving similar problems in the future. The research shows that the multilevel governance in this case was not successful, since the direction of decision-making was mainly directed from the top down and the subnational level was thus poorly involved in decision-making along with the national level. Bad practice has had a negative impact on the entire crisis, resulting on one hand certain procedures being more difficult and lengthier than they should be and on the other, started the doubt of the union as a whole and its basic values. This research is useful on a practical and on a scientific level. On a practical level it is seen as a helpful tool for crisis management to all the actors involved and on the scientific level the usefulness is seen through the choice of topic as well as through the choice of the current case from practice on the basis of which the study was conducted. The subject as such is still fairly unspecified and unexplored on scientific grounds in Slovenia, similarly to the area of the migrant crisis that, due to its extent, will not settle for quite some time