Intergovernmental cooperation and social policies in the state of the autonomies: The institutional framework for the governance of the dependent care

Abstract

Over the recent years, we have assisted to the progressive consolidation of the intergovernmental cooperative relations between the Spanish Government and the Autonomous Communities. In fact, the institutional arrangements allowing multilateral interactions, particularly the Sectoral Conferences, have gained political significance. In order to assess the recent evolution of the multilateral relations in the State of the Autonomies, our research shifts to a case study: the governance of the long-term care services granted by the System for the Autonomy and Care for Dependency (SAAD). A first approach to the institutional framework envisaged for the implementation of the SAAD evidences the strengthening of the cooperative relations in this social policy domain. The functioning of the Territorial Council of the SAAD, where the General State Administration and the ACs can jointly reach binding decisions by majority rule, clearly exemplifies the change of the traditional pattern of multilateral cooperation.