All for One? The Dynamic of Intermunicipal Cooperation in Regional Marketing Partnerships

In this complex and highly interconnected world, one government rarely possesses full capability in any given policy area. It is therefore vital to understand how governments can work together to achieve collective goals. This paper examines how horizontal cooperation between local governments emerges in metropolitan regions. It tests a theoretical framework that unites the two dominant, but so far isolated, approaches to regional governance and cooperation in four cases: the Toronto and Waterloo city-regions in Canada, and the Frankfurt and Rhein-Neckar regions in Germany. Findings demonstrate the inconsistency of the systemic and intervening factors that anchor the two dominant approaches and propose an alternative approach ? civic capital ? to explain observed patterns of cooperation. Finally, the paper reflects on the theoretical and policy implications of these findings for research in comparative politics and regional governance.