Local Democracy in Post-Communist Europe

This book is the first volume of aseries that aims at taking stock of the status of local democracy at the beginning of a new century. Modern local govern­ th me nt is largely a 19 century invention in response to processes of urbanisa­ tion and industrialisation. It became charged with the mundane tasks of pav­ ing and lighting streets, collecting refuse and providing clean water and sanitary sewerage, sometimes also acquiring a role in education and health. Anyone who has experienced a breakdown in such services knows how es­ sential they are to civilised life in urban society. Urban civilisation could simply not exist without working municipalities. The importance of munici­ pal functions ensures that the control over the municipality becomes a vital political issue. In most countries, democratisation of local government pre­ ceded and was an important step towards a fuH national democracy. Munici­ palities offered potential for the realisation of democratic citizenship at a comprehensible level of government and also became training grounds for participation in democracy on a larger scale. As institutions of the industrial era, local governments may not necessarily be able to respond adequately to the needs and aspirations of citizens of a post-industrial and global age. There are signs that citizens in a number of countries are loosing patience with local government. However, many municipalities also seek to open up new chan­ nels of participation for and communication with citizens.

Devolution of Government in the Ex-Communist Countries: Some Explanatory Frameworks.- 1: Challenges of the Reform Process.- Rebuilding local democracy and administration in East Germany — a “special case” of post-communist transformation?.- The Czech Republic 1990–2001. Successful reform at the municipal level and a difficult birth of the intermediary government.- Local Government in Poland and Hungary: from post-communist reform towards EU accession.- Local democracy in the Baltic countries: a new beginning?.- Local Government Reform in Slovenia. From socialist self-management to local self-government.- Local Government Development in Croatia. Problems and Value Mix.- Local self-government in Russia: Precarious trajectory between power and law.- 2: Making Local Democracy Work.- Towards normalisation of local democracy in East-Central Europe. A developmental approach to institutional reform.- The values of local democracy as seen by mayors in East-Central Europe.- Whose mayor? Representational roles in local politics.- How beautiful is bigger? In search of the optimal size for local democracy.- Learning across borders: The international contacts of municipalities.- 3: Conclusions.- Decentralisation: Lessons for Reformers.- List of authors.

Harald Baldersheim, professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway; Michal Ilner, professor at the Institute of Sociology, Academy of sciences of the Czech Republik; Hellmut Wollmann, professor (em.) at the Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany