How do policy conflicts change when local governments and activists join forces to challenge national policies? This event at SPUI25 focuses on Imrat Verhoeven’s new book Contentious Governance. Drawing on Dutch conflicts over natural gas production, nearshore wind farms and carbon capture and storage, the discussion explores how cooperation between sub-national governments and activists reshapes power relations, governance processes and government-citizen relations. Imrat Verhoeven, Tamara Metze and Saskia Tempelman will discuss these issues, moderated by Martien Kuitenbrouwer.