engleski

Local and Regional Governance in Europe: For a New Comparative Framework

The traditional static approach to territorial organisation, local authorities’ functions and local political-administrative system as the three main domains of research in the field of local government in Europe has to be replaced by dynamic one, i.e. the one that follows the changes contemporary local governments are faced with. Specifically, the concept of multilevel governance, the economic role of local governments, and decentralisation process leading to the transformation of local government systems have to be in the centre of a new, dynamic research framework for comparative analysis of European local governments. At the same time, all the important actors influencing processes at the local and broader levels have to be included. It seems that dynamic aspects are obverse of the static elements and are in relation of mutual interconnection. The kind of approach that includes all the relevant aspects of European local governments can provide us with systemic data required for the analysis of similarities and differences in European countries. Hence, we will be able to establish whether there is a harmonisation of local government systems and processes in Europe, what kind of harmonisation it is and what the main points of convergence are.

local and regional governance ; multilevel governance ; decentralization ; comparative analysis ; European local governmants

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