Soft law to allign local goverments

Abstract

Soft law can be more effective in aligning local governments than using traditional methods, for example sectoral plans. Two contexts help to explain the superior efficacy of soft law instruments. The first is when local authorities adopt successful policies suggested by the public authority with the intention of imitating them. The second is when a local authority feels constrained by lack of funding and thus cannot feasibly exercise their powers. In an intergovernmental relationship, a non-traditional method works better than a traditional one when it takes advantage of budget cuts to adopt a soft law instrument.