Institutional Reforms in Local Government

Abstract

This book addresses key issues in the reform of local government worldwide. What new concerns have given rise to such reforms? What happens when established institutions are transformed? Will reform bring about the desired effects on political leadership and the democratic process, or do unintended consequences follow? Are these effects influenced by local and national political cultures? By finding answers to these questions, we hope to broaden our understanding of local government institutions and political leadership in particular. To date, with the exception of Mouritzen and Svara (2002), there have been few studies of local government institutions in the West. By comparing local government forms and the democratic concerns embedded in them — political leadership, political accountability, the involvement of lay politicians, recruitment and professionalism — this book exposes some of the similarities and differences in institutional impact across 11 selected Western countries.