ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of institutional networks and social capital in resolving collective action problems through the processes of exchange and socialisation, thus facilitating learning and adaptation within the European Union structural policy environment. In the case of Greece, the combination of a centralised state structure and a weak civil society is considered the main obstacle for achieving politico-economic performance and adapting to the European environment. Although trust and inter-organisational networks are considered as factors that facilitate the restructuring process in areas of industrial decline, their use in the European regional policy environment is linked to the existing within the European policy-making environment similar needs for adaptation and adjustment. Social capital and institutional networks are identified as key components of the learning, adaptation and Europeanisation functions of subnational governments, by facilitating collective action among the actors through the processes of exchange and socialisation.
