Cooperation and intermunicipalism are two essential concepts in the study of the current
reality of local governments in Spain. Taking into account the complex territorial organization of the
state and analyzing the current political-administrative framework, it is increasingly necessary to find
mechanisms for intergovernmental and administrative relations that allow us to respond to the needs
of citizens with greater dynamism. The traditional "subjective" analysis, in which each municipality
represents a unit that manages the common good in a grouped manner, has been left behind and new
"functional" formulas are imposed, in which these municipalities no longer work in isolation, but in
relation to others based on criteria of necessity and opportunity. Moreover, this intermunicipal
cooperation can take place in a variety of forms, types and legal regulations. The chapter analyzes its
viability in light of the major systemic challenges that occur at this level of government, such as the
hyperfragmentation and dispersion of local government, the chronic insufficiency of local entities to
ensure the provision of their public services after multiple legal reforms, and the social commitments
that are established in a context of multilevel governance. It lists some of the political challenges posed
by inter-municipal cooperation formulas such as the opacity of their structures, the dilution of political
responsibility for the management of public services or the lack of direct democratic legitimacy, among
others. The chapter ends with some recommendations on how these relations can be addressed from
our institutional framework, with special reference to the geographical and demographic problems
derived from the configuration of the Spanish local structure.
