How to be Familiar with Local Agenda 21- Initiatives? Some Hypothesis on the Importance of Co-operation and Trust in Switzerland and Other European Countries
The success of Locale Agenda 21 (LA21)- initiatives depends on whether they can influence political agenda-setting. Starting from Luhmanns theory on public opinion the paper describes LA21- processes as political topics showing a typical life cycle. To make such processes lasting engaged actors play an important role. Comparing five LA21- processes in Switzerland one can see different actors acting as driving forces at different stages of a LA21- process. The actors perform different tasks within such a process. This is one of the most challenging task within a LA21- process to balance these differences. It is also subject of the ongoing debate on local and regional governance. The paper shows the importance of these questions to put the Local Agenda 21 on the political agenda and to keep the topic running. For this the five case studies are related to the results of another research project on the institutional stabilisation of LA21- processes.