Greater Copenhagen – ett väldigt danskt initiativ. En studie om subnationell kapacitet i det gränsöverskridande samarbetet Greater Copenhagen & Skåne Committee

The phenomenon where subnational governments are reaching out for collaboration with external actors in a horizontal dimension are nowadays a common subject for research in local government studies. By examining the transnational organization Greater Copenhagen & Skåne Committee (GCSC), this study aims to develop a further understanding of why subnational governments are joining different kinds of collaborations, networks and partnerships with external actors. GCSC is a collaboration between regions and municipalities in Skåne and Denmark. Drawing on a new theoretical framework constructed by Peter Eckersley, the study explores how the Swedish subnational government’s capacity to achieve political objectives are changing through the collaboration with Denmark. The analytical results indicate that one explanation to why the subnational governments in Skåne have started a collaboration with Denmark is because of a lacking resource. To have a brand name that is internationally known can be identified as an important resource at the subnational level to achieve political objectives concerning economic growth. The analysis further indicates that GCSC is not benefiting the local and regional governments equally, where Skåne’s dependency on Denmark in relation to the brand mark Copenhagen is presented as an explanation