Framing Europe on the local level – policy networks in German cities and their activities for political cohesion in Europe

Political practice and academic discourse similarly assume that the local level has the potential to strengthen political cohesion in the European Union: it is the tier closest to citizens and implements a large share of European legislation. But what political cohesion actually is and how it can be achieved is less clear. The paper addresses this gap by analysing the local framing of political cohesion in Europe. Drawing on case studies in eight German cities, local Europe-related networks are investigated, focusing on how their ideas about their role in crafting political cohesion links to their Europe-related activities.