Cities Against Democratic Backsliding : Evidence from Europe and Beyond.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Antonio La Vina, Enrico.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy.

Authoritarianism.

Democracy--Europe.

Authoritarianism--Europe.

Europe.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (253 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bristol : Bristol University Press, 2026.

Summary:

As nationalist and populist movements gain traction worldwide, democracy faces growing threats.In many cases, large cities have emerged as strongholds of progressive and democratic values, pushing back against authoritarian pressures.

Contents:

Front Cover

Cities against democratic backsliding: Evidence from Europe and Beyond

Copyright Page

Dedication

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Notes on Contributors

Foreword: Democracy at the Crossroads - Cities Must Act Eric Corijn, Free University Brussels Democracy is still in the making in most parts of the world. The Economist Democracy Index 1 states that in 2023 only 7.8% of the world population l

Notes

1 Introduction

Note

References

2 Cities and Democratic Backsliding

Democratic backsliding, and its avoidable endpoint

Why cities?

Putting "city power" into view

How to use this book

3 Conceptual and Methodological Basis of the Book

The conceptual framework

Taxonomy of centralistic actions

Taxonomy of LGs' reactions

Case selection and the resulting structure of the book

The structure of the book

4 Right-​Wings and the City in Contemporary Italy: Culture, Policies, and Remedy

Introduction

The kaleidoscope of the Italian Right

Italy: a country of towns and cities

Right-​wing and the city in contemporary Italy

Cities as targets of authoritarian strategies from national government: attempts and reaction

Government attempts

Cities' reaction

Final considerations

Bibliography

5 Countering the Far-​Right Threat to Cities and Communities in the UK

Understanding the threat posed by place-​less power

The super-​centralisation of the English state

How cities and communities are fighting back: the example of the Bristol One City Approach

The Bristol City Office and the Bristol One City Approach

1. City Gatherings

2. Co-​creating and rolling forward the Bristol One City Plan

3. One City Governance Board and City Funds

4. Delivering initiatives and projects.

5. Delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

6. Developing place-​based leadership talent

Emerging themes and the fight for democracy

Strengthen and solidify the power of elected local governments

Improve the quality of place-​based governance

Win the battle of ideas

6 Cities Against Populism in the US

Four and more decades of safe local spaces

Sleeping Beauty reawakens, four years of sanctuary policy innovation and diffusion

Examining resistance in cities that give sanctuary

Centralizing migration? Gating America

Patterns of federal government trespass

Ramping up centralist immigration politics and policy

Theorizing local contestation

Internal (within city) incentives and motivations for opposing illiberal populist leaders

External drivers of city opposition to illiberal populist leaders

Strategies cities use to oppose populist national governments

Discussion and conclusion

Summary and takeaways

Looking beyond the United States

7 Fragmented Recentralization Meets Local Resistance: The Case of Poland

The context

Polish local government system 1990-​2015

The political landscape of Polish cities

From decentralization champion to top-​of-​mind recentralization example

Cities' reactions to centralistic pressure: counter-​policies, communication, coalition-​building

If central government is a problem, can city leaders be a solution?

Cities against illiberal policies

Cities' networks against recentralization and democratic backsliding

Conclusions

Acknowledgement

8 Budapest Against the Attacks of the National Government

A short historic overview

The governments' agenda: quick and strong centralization since 2010.

The reactions of Budapest to the illiberal-​authoritarian politics and centralist pressure

The change: the capital city becoming oppositional to the government

Chronological overview of the relationship between the government and Budapest

Forms of municipal resistance against the central government pressure

9 Countering Authoritarian Neoliberal Populism: The Rise of New Social Municipalism in Turkey

The changes in the government system: recentralization and shifts in central-​local relations in Turkey

The present administrative system of Turkey

The recentralization of administrative system and shifts in central-​local government relations

Escalating recentralization after the 2019 local elections

Opposition party gains control in Istanbul and Ankara

Political tutelage and the abuse of supervisory and accountability mechanisms

Rising financial tutelage of central government and increasing financial vulnerability of municipalities

Restrictions brought by central government institutions on the rights and responsibilities of metropolitan municipalities

Navigating political repression: the practice of Istanbul and Ankara Metropolitan Municipalities

Counter policies

Beyond the counter policies: political communication, paradiplomacy, and demonstrative actions

The implications of the challenge of opposition: no significant change in the neoliberal populist rhetoric of the AKP

Conclusive remarks: outlook to the future

10 Looking at Populism and Democratic Backsliding in the Latin American Context: The Case of El Salvador

A historic review of El Salvador and its political structure

Cities and the central government, as shaped by recent history.

About democratic backsliding and its imprint on Latin America

Populism, a scourge to Latin American democracy

From Latin American populism to hybrid political systems

Political change in El Salvador

Bukele, a millennial authoritarian

Attack on local governments

Reactions to democratic backsliding in El Salvador

11 Citizen Participation in the Age of Chinese Authoritarian Populism

Introduction: Chinese cities as dynamic sites of changes

Background: decentralization in the reform era

Recent (re)centralization in the cities

Responses of the Chinese cities: muted resistance?

A tale of resistance in two Chinese cities

Citizen engagement through participatory budgeting in Chengdu

Citizen participation as a form of resistance?

Consensus conference in Hong Kong

Diverting dissent into deliberative channels

Conclusion: Possibilities of resistance amidst authoritarian populism in the Chinese cities?

12 Conclusions and Reflections

Through the looking glass of the centralization process

Still decentralized?

Recentralization in progress

Monocentric dictatorial regimes

General observations

Cities resist

Overall progressive city strategies

Policy takeover and communication

Lawsuits, political lobbying and rebellious gestures

Coalition building -​ domestic and beyond

The cost of opposing centralization

Recommendations

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-5292-5063-3

9781529250633

OCLC:

1571459470