Some Considerations on Neoliberalism and Cohesion Policy- The Lisbon Strategy and Multilevel Governance

Abstract

Mainstream policy-making and policy analysis usually frames cohesion policy within the setting of the Lisbon Strategy and its objectives, as well as within the setting of the Europe 2020 Strategy, and also focuses on multilevel governance as one of the specific aspects of social cohesion policies. Neoliberalism and neoliberal undercurrents are present in discussions of cohesion policy not only in the sense that cohesion policy might or might not be a proper countermeasure to neoliberal globalized market forces, but also in the sense that neoliberalism is present within cohesion policy itself. This short article aims to present some of the main lines of argument and research linking neoliberalism, cohesion policy and multilevel governance, with particular focus on the context of the Lisbon Strategy and on some specificities of multilevel governance.

Keywords: Neoliberalism, Lisbon Strategy, Governance