Local Governance in Flanders

Abstract

This chapter describes the local government system in Flanders and developments towards local governance. In Section 2, the chapter starts with a brief description of the place and role of Flemish local government within the Belgian federal state. Developments towards local governance are described next. Section 3 discusses initiatives to strengthen representative democracy. Section 4 outlines a number of initiatives, focusing on the role of the individual and organised citizen within local government. As such, we take into consideration the extent to which the introduction of new forms of governance is influenced by the existing institutions of the local political system and the institutional reform that is taking place. The conclusion in Section 5 typifies the initiatives outlined and discusses the tension between new forms of interactive governance and traditional representative democracy.