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FACULTEIT POLITIEKE EN SOCIALE WETENSCHAPPEN - VERGELIJKENDE LOKALE POLITIEK

INTRODUCTION

  • Tradition, transformation, and future of local administrations

  • Course structure and content overview

  • Key themes of the course:

    • Tradition

    • Transformation

    • Future

CONTENT OVERVIEW

  • Today’s discussion:

    • Tradition

    • Model behavior

    • Intergovernmental

    • Intragovernmental

    • Local democracy in action

  • Next week’s discussion:

    • Transformation

    • Causes

    • Forms

    • Consequences and evaluation

    • Future

    • Local network steering

  • Reference material: Reader is Steyvers, 2026

TRADITION AND MODEL BEHAVIOR

  • Key questions posed:

    • What constitutes traditional local governance?

    • What does model behavior mean in this context?

STATISTICAL DATA ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN EUROPE

COMPARATIVE LOCAL POLITICS IN EUROPE (2014)

  • Regional Areas and Units of Analysis:

    • Nordic Countries:

    • Denmark: 98 municipalities (Kommuner)

    • Finland: 320 municipalities (Kunta)

    • Iceland: 74 municipalities (Sveitarfélag)

    • Norway: 428 municipalities (Kommune)

    • Sweden: 290 municipalities (Kommuner)

    • Southern Countries:

    • Cyprus: 350 Communities (Koinotites), 30 Municipalities (Dimoi)

    • Greece: 325 municipalities (Dimos)

    • Macedonia: 80 municipalities (Opštini)

    • Malta: 68 Local Councils (Kunsill Lokali)

    • Turkey: 1,381 municipalities (Belediye), 30 metropolitan municipalities

    • Western Countries (Mediterranean):

    • France: 36,681 municipalities (Communes)

    • Italy: 8,071 municipalities (Comuni)

    • Portugal: 308 municipalities (Municípios)

    • Spain: 7,718 municipalities (Municipios) with less than 20,000 inhabitants; 400 municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants

    • Benelux Countries:

    • Belgium: 589 municipalities (Gemeenten or Communes)

    • Luxembourg: 106 municipalities

    • Netherlands: 403 municipalities (Gemeenten)

    • German-speaking Mid-European Countries:

    • Austria: 2,353 municipalities (Gemeinden)

    • Germany: 11,040 municipalities (Gemeinden and Städte)

    • Liechtenstein: 11 municipalities (Gemeinden)

    • Switzerland: 2,352 municipalities (Gemeinden, Communes or Comune)

    • British Isles:

    • Ireland: 31 Local authorities

    • United Kingdom: 433 Local authorities

    • Central and Eastern Countries:

    • Estonia: 213 municipalities

    • Latvia: 119 municipalities

    • Lithuania: 60 municipalities

    • Exception Examples:

    • The implications of varying local governances

TRANSITION AND TRANSFORMATION IN LOCAL POLITICS

TRADITION AND MODEL BEHAVIOR

  • Verscheidenheid (Variety) and systematic comparisons form the basis of comparisons of local government models:

    • Understanding how historic models have shaped contemporary governance practices.

    • Models and the development of social sciences in support of local governance traditions.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

  • Evolution of local governance from the late 18th to the 19th century:

    • Comparative perspectives between continental and non-continental Europe.

  • Development of the welfare state in the latter half of the 20th century:

    • Key terms: Nationalization, centralization, and the varying intensity of these processes at the local level.

  • The rise of local network management from the late 20th century to present:

    • Historical context of governance traditions under pressure leading to reforms and the new role of classical local governance.

    • Focus on intergovernmental and intragovernmental perspectives with democracy in action and arguments for parsimony versus uniqueness.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRADITIONS [I]

  • Analysis based on Page & Goldsmith’s framework:

    • Importance of three dimensions:

    • Functions: Significance of providers of public services and provisions.

    • Discretion: Freedom of action or autonomy.

    • Access: Number and nature of contacts with central government.

  • Explanatory factors:

    • Historical influences such as feudalism, religious contexts, Napoleonic legacies, and the welfare state.

  • Critique of limited national selection and the false dichotomy within governance analysis.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRADITIONS [II]

  • Further refinements based on legal/political localism versus centralism.

  • Comparison of various governance ethos:

    • Clientelist, welfarist, and developmental approaches.

  • Introducing Hesse & Sharpe as alternatives within comparative governance.

  • Examination of the comprehensive relationships between legal status, autonomy, and the principal roles in different regional contexts.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRADITIONS [III]

  • Current challenges in Central and Eastern Europe due to common historical undercurrents:

    • Communist roots affecting local state governments.

    • Characteristics of undemocratic elections and real decision-making power held by centralized party bureaucracies.

    • Ideological roots in democratic centralism emphasizing economic structure over territoriality.

  • Common transitions towards liberal democracy and market economies with a focus on self-government:

    • Identifying varied developmental paths despite similarities in transitions.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRADITIONS [IV]

  • Transition from qualitative to quantitative assessments in examining local autonomy:

    • Based on empirical data from Sellers & Lidström, 2007, emphasizing local government capacities.

  • Summary of key metrics:

    • Constitutional protections, corporate representation for local governments, local government employment, local revenue streams, etc.

  • Importance of fiscal and politico-administrative welfare state types.

INTRAGOVERNMENTAL TRADITIONS

RELATIONAL DYNAMICS

  • Mouritzen & Svara’s typology classifies the interactions between lay citizens, leaders, and professionals in local governance.

    • Role Dynamics:

    • Variations between strong mayors, committee leaders, council-manager forms, and their implications for governance structures.

  • Institutional variables in mayoral strength and their relationships with recruitment practices, leadership styles, and legislative coordination.

LOCAL DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

DEMOCRATIC MODELS

  • Comparative analysis of different democratic practices along with their impacts on local governance:

    • Aggregate versus integrative principles influencing democratic approaches.

    • Distinctions between direct and indirect forms of participation and their implications.

  • Theoretical infrastructures shaping local democracy:

    • Empirical findings about combinations of autonomy, relevance, and coherence across different governance networks.

AGGREGATION OR INTEGRATION IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE

  • Overview of various democratic systems:

    • Types:

    • Pendulum democracy

    • Consensus democracy

    • Intergovernmental vs. intragovernmental mechanisms.

    • Implications for local governance structures including centralized versus decentralized styles, the role of civic engagement, and patterns of local self-governance.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

  • Comprehensive reference to all sources cited throughout the presentation, ensuring an understanding of context and authors involved in the researched material.

  • Continued exploration of local governance models should reference the works by Steyvers (2026), Ladner et al. (2021), and others to validate data and concepts mentioned.