Comparing local governance : trends and developments / edited by Bas Denters and Lawrence E. Rose.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Denters, S. A. H.

Rose, Lawrence E., 1944-

Series:

Government beyond the centre

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Local government--Case studies.

Local government.

Comparative government.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xiv, 293 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Summary:

Local government is widely regarded as having entered a new era - the age of local governance. In this view public management reforms and the rise of partnerships and collaboration in service delivery have combined with the effects of globalization, the rising importance of the European Union urbanization and the emancipation of citizens to locate a 'brave new world' for local government organizations.

While the period since the 1980s has seen an explosiion of analysis and debate on these issues, there has been little systematic comparison of what has actually changed across a range of national contexts.

Has there been a fundamental transformation of local governance? And if so what have been its key features? Has it been a genuinely international phenomenon or have observers overgeneralized from a limited number of cases?

To answer these questions, Comparing Local Governance brings together specially commissioned chapters by leading experts covering more than a dozen counties exemplifying between them a wide spectrum of types and models of local government systems and networks.

Each chapter is written to a common remit addressing the same core set of questions to provide a coherent picture of both the similarities and differences in their experiences. Together with two synoptic concluding chapters they provide important new insights into the key trends and developments in local governance.

Contents:

Local governance in the third millennium : a brave new world? / Bas Denters and Lawrence E. Rose

France : the intermunicipal revolution / Olivier Borraz and Patrick Le Galès

Italy : after the storm / Luigi Bobbio

Belgium : the changing world of Belgian municipalities / Yves Plees

The Netherlands : in search of responsiveness / Bas Denters and Pieter-Jan Klok

The Nordic countries : still the 'promised land'? / Lawrence E. Rose and Krister Ståhlberg

Poland : a time of transition / Paweł Swianiewicz

Germany : a new type of local government? / Oscar W. Gabriel and Susanne Eisenmann

Switzerland : reforming small autonomous municipalities / Andreas Ladner

The United Kingdom : an increasingly differentiated polity? / David Wilson

New Zealand : a quantum leap forward? / Graham W.A. Bush

Australia : still a tale of Cinderella? / Chris Aulich

The United States : executive-centred politics / Hank V. Savitch and Ronald K. Vogel

A new intergovernmentalism? / Mike Goldsmith

Towards local governance? / Bas Denters and Lawrence E. Rose.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-284) and index.

ISBN:

0333995554

0333995562

OCLC:

55845927

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description