The Political Drivers of Horizontal Governance Relations in Small Localities: Evidence from a Cross-Country and Cross-Locality Study Across Seven Western European Countries

Refugee integration in small localities poses complex challenges that must be faced through "horizontal" cooperation between local governments, nonpublic and private actors. This article investigates how frequent and how collaborative/conflictual these horizontal governance relations are and whether, and how, they are influenced by political party control of local executives and the local strength of radical right parties (RRPs). Methodologically, we combine quantitative analysis-using a unique dataset of governance interactions across 36 localities, derived from a survey filled in by 185 representatives of nonpublic actors involved in refugee integration governance-and qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with the same interviewees and 68 local policymakers. We show that horizontal governance relations on refugee integration are largely collaborative, but their frequency and quality vary depending on interplays between the type of nonpublic actor involved, local executives' political affiliation and RRPs' strength within the municipal legislative body.