Local Governance ‘in Swedish’? Globalisation, Local Welfare Government and Beyond

My dissertation project Double bass in Czech music of the 21st century with a focus on solo and chamber music literature in a historical and international context aims to convey a report about the state of the Czech contemporary music for double bass in the new millennium. The output value should be a summarization and cataloguing of new compositions, a comparison of the same and a description of them in both an international and historical context. An- other important aspect of this thesis is the case analysis of some pieces and a description of compositional techniques used. This work is meant to be mainly for musical high school (conservatories in the Czech Republic) and musical universities students and pedagogues, as well as double bass interpreters and others interested in this topic, who want to broaden their horizons and discover the state of the contemporary Czech literature for double bass and learn new and often superior compositions. First and foremost, an encyclopaedic style summariza- tion of contemporary double bass pieces should provide a useful tool for all readers interested in discovering new pieces for the deepest string instrument. Another important point of the thesis is a description and explanation of the most common interpretation techniques and a guide to their realisation in praxis.

The Routledge handbook of international local government

This paper discusses how partnership between local organisations and Government inside governance spaces affects local development. The aim is to raise some critical issues about the concept of partnership and about partnership effectively for municipal development. Thus, the article uses partnership as its central theory. Specifically, it explores to what extent partnership is an effective strategy for local development in areas of historical conflict between local Government and local organisations in Pará State, Brazilian Amazonia. It focuses particularly on the municipality of Igarapé-Açú, located in north-east of Pará State. Igarapé-Açú was chosen because it is a singular case of local organisations and Government partnership since 2008 when a governance space was created to carry out a partnership process called Municipal Development Forum (MDF). Methodologically, the case study was carried out from a qualitative analysis with data gathered from documents and semi-structured interviews with key-informants. The paper shows that the great challenge to build partnerships between local Government and local organisations is not in these actors capacity to represent the state and civil society in a governance forum, but in their capacity to change the local institutional environment to enable this forum to propose changes in terms of rural development. The paper shows that institutional change does not happen rapidly; changes depend on a particular historical context. In conclusion, the case of Igarapé-Açú shows that in an environment where there is great political conflict much time is needed to create links between the rural actors.

The paper delves into the political framework of Nepal’s social welfare system of Local Level Government and its policy. The study explores the importance of social values, cultural roots and government’s decisions and their evolution in the political systems of Nepal. Similarly, it explores the significance of welfare system in local level government, their policy endeavour and ongoing impact on the subjects. The local level government structure and agencies are the important carriers of the change and welfare. The study is based on constructive interpretative nature of qualitative method, the non-probability purposive sampling with interview questions is used to explore the data of the study. The collective endeavour of Nepali cultural identity and structure has played a vital role in its polity in ancient, medieval, and early modern periods of its history. The local government system plays a greater role in bringing equal opportunity, recognition, participation and inclusion. The study explores the local government of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal engages in basic needs-interest-based polity welfare system and need to wholistic governing welfare mechanism amongst the three tiers of government. Additionally, this paper touches upon the challenges and opportunities involved in constructing Nepal as a welfare state.

In the international context it has been argued that institutional reform to leadership in local government can improve the sector in terms of both its democratic legitimacy and its operational efficiency. In Australia, despite two decades of far-reaching reform processes across state government jurisdictions, focused heavily on structural change, local government still faces daunting problems, yet the potential of reform to political leadership as a method of alleviating these problems has not been fully explored. This paper thus examines the applicability of alternative leadership models to Australian local government, in particular the elected executive model which characterises some American and European local government systems. We argue that the introduction of elected executives could prove problematic in terms of accountability and representation in Australian local government.

This contribution discusses the theoretical and conceptual implications of asking about the legitimacy of local democracy and the relevance of discussing ‘performance legitimacy’. The role of local government in generating or undermining democratic legitimacy is ambivalent. It is questionable whether there can be something like a genuine legitimacy of local government at all, considering its subordinate and functionalised role in the modern (welfare) state. In the first part of the article, the complexity and controversial status of political legitimacy in general and local government in particular is exposed. It is argued that the effective interplay of justification (giving acceptable reasons for policies) and demonstration (performing successfully by fulfilling promises), which is at the core of generating legitimacy, cannot be deduced from general concepts and fixed in a general model. Generating a self-reinforcing dynamic of public support and linking different dimensions of legitimacy (input, throughput, output) is a matter of reflexive institutionalisation. Being part of a democratic welfare state has provided local governments in Western democracies with a stabilised focus of legitimacy. At the same time, local governments are particularly under pressure to adapt, to innovate and to modernise. Four broader narratives of changing democratic legitimacy sources with respect to local government are discussed. The shift to ‘performance legitimacy’ has to be seen in a wider context of redefining the meaning of (local) democracy as mapped out by the four narratives.

This article aims to discuss the roles of local governments in the era of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a case study of Gyeongsangbukdo Province and Daegu Metropolitan City in South Korea. The study looks at the main official development assistance (ODA) policies and activities of these two local governments, and how these two local governments have adopted the SDGs framework. In doing so, this study has employed the approach of network governance regarding the establishment of partnerships between a central authority and local governments and between local governments and other aid stakeholders at the local level. The findings of the study suggest that local governments’ ODA policies and activities in South Korea are barely commensurate with recent norm change at the international level. Given this, this study argues that local governments in South Korea need to develop their ODA capacity building in order to be in line with international norms.

This research delves into the linguistic and historical dimensions of Padang Lawas, a region in North Sumatra, Indonesia, by conducting an in-depth analysis of ancient Malay inscriptions originating from Hindu-Buddhist antiquities. The central objective of the study is to identify traces of Proto-Austronesian, the ancestral language of the Austronesian language family, within these inscriptions and to place them within their broader historical and cultural context. The linguistic analysis begins with the identification of linguistic features, including vocabulary, phonological elements, and syntactical structures, that echo Proto-Austronesian characteristics. By comparing these features with reconstructed Proto-Austronesian and related languages, the research aims to shed light on the linguistic evolution of the Malay language and its historical connections. The historical context is illuminated by examining the inscriptions within the framework of the Hindu-Buddhist period in Padang Lawas. This entails a thorough exploration of religious practices, trade networks, and societal structures that defined the region during this era. Additionally, the inscriptions' references to both Hindu and Buddhist deities reveal the syncretism of beliefs that characterized the cultural landscape. Regional variations in the inscriptions highlight the diversity of cultures and dialects within Padang Lawas, enriching our understanding of linguistic and cultural interactions. Ethical considerations have guided the research, emphasizing the preservation of cultural heritage, responsible research, and collaboration with local communities and authorities. The findings of this research have profound implications. They contribute to the fields of linguistics, history, and archaeology, offering fresh insights into language evolution, historical context, and the interplay of cultures in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, they advocate for the preservation of cultural heritage, responsible research practices, and interdisciplinary collaboration as models for future investigations.

Background: Forest and Land Fires (FLFs) in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI), South Sumatera, pose significant ecological challenges. Driven by government policies, plantation businesses, and community activities, these fires spread due to peatlands and dry conditions. Satellite data from CIFOR shows an increasing affected area, from 150 km² in 2020 to over 250 km² in 2023, highlighting the urgent need for intervention. Methods: This study examines the complex interplay between community and company involvement, government policies, and FFGFs in OKI using a descriptive analytic approach method to enriched by a literature review, this study delves into the historical context and current state of forest and land fires in OKI. Findings: Previous research has highlighted the adverse impacts of these fires on the environment, economy, and community well-being, to address this, our hypothesis posits that collaborative efforts involving local communities, plantation companies, and government agencies can yield effective fire prevention and management strategies. Forest and land fires in OKI District are a complex issue because they are related to the awareness of the local community, plantation company management, and local government policies. Conclusions: The necessary effort is to encourage private plantation companies to support community involvement in the form of village-level fire control institutions facilitated by the local government. Novelty/Originality of this Study: This study provides a novel approach by analyzing the role of community, plantation companies, and government policies in addressing forest and land fires (FLFs) in the Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) District. It proposes a collaborative solution, emphasizing the involvement of local communities through village-level fire control institutions, facilitated by the local government, to improve fire prevention and management strategies.

PART 1: - THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES - The Nature of the Welfare State - The Nature of Policy-making - PART 2: - THE CLASSIC WELFARE STATE 1945-75 - The Historical Context - Employment Policy - Social Security - Health Care - Education - Housing - The Personal Social Services - The Achievement - PART 3: - WELFARE POLICY SINCE 1976 - The Welfare State under Threat - Appendix I The Cost of Welfare

Intersectional understandings of the role and meaning of platform-mediated work in the pandemic Swedish welfare state

This chapter explores how policies for regenerating deprived areas and tackling different aspects of social exclusion in the UK have taken a ‘community turn’ which embraces an enhanced role for the voluntary and community sector. It discusses three major tools of the ‘community turn’ at local level, i.e., governance, partnership and capacity building, to explore how relationships between local government and voluntary organisations are being reshaped. One key to the ‘community turn’ is that central government found from experience that its spending on regeneration activity proved wasted if the local community were not thoroughly involved. Local community activists involved in such decision making may be working with larger voluntary organisations, local government, and the private sector. It argues that the emergence of an enhanced role for the sector can fruitfully be seen as part of an attempted ‘institutional fix’ in a broader project to restructure the postwar welfare state in an era of fiscal constraint. The chapter concludes by considering the broader geographical consequences of the ‘community turn’ for voluntarism and for the changing ‘postnational’ welfare state. It is suggested that the ‘community turn’ involves specific constructions of space, scale and temporality, which not only have important consequences for the shape and structure of the emerging welfare state, but also for the construction of a differentiated voluntary and community sector.

PurposeThe self-initiated nature of migration by self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) may make them more susceptible to the impact of the national context within which their adjustment takes place. Consequently, the failure or success of the expatriation depends on an SIE's ability to adapt to this national context. The paper aims to contribute to the adjustment theory literature by using the contextual angle and examining the impact of historical, legal, employment and hiring contexts on adjustment.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses data from a qualitative study of 42 in-depth interviews with German SIEs. The study used semi-structured in-depth interviews in order to collect a wide range of information on adjustment experiences, circumstances and expectations, enabling comparative analysis. All participants have self-initiated their move to Britain and relocated without organisational support, held university diplomas, worked according to their qualifications and relocated following a job offer.FindingsAmong the study's main findings is impact of national context on adjustment experience, especially the historical relations between the countries involved. German SIEs have enjoyed easy adaptation in their new workplaces due to structurally favourable positions within the local hierarchies of prejudice, which can be attributed to the complex historical relations between Germany and Britain. Furthermore, this study draws the attention to the particularities of the nationally constructed hiring practices. In particular, the speedy recruitment in Britain presented additional challenges in adjustment for some participants, while facilitating it for others.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on a specific population, and further research is needed to determine whether the findings can be generalised to other groups of SIEs in Britain and elsewhere. Another limitation of the study is the homogeneous nature of the sample in terms of education level and participant employment status (educated at a university level and found employment before relocation). Future research avenues include applying a comparative approach and focusing on the intersection between national context, employment circumstances, educational level and SIE adjustment.Practical implicationsThe study documents the complex effects of the hiring context on SIE adjustment and suggests that communicating the nationally constructed recruitment practices will align the expectations of both parties. This may increase the effectiveness of hiring and placing within the company and have a positive impact on the adjustment and work performance of the SIE. Furthermore, understating the particularities of each national context can enable international human resources management (IHRM) professionals to assess the specificity of each potential employee and can provide well-considered suggestions concerning the effect of country-specific legal and historical context on their adjustment and hence provide SIEs with tailored support.Originality/valueAlthough the adjustment of SIEs has attracted considerable research interest in recent years, it is often limited compared to the attention focused on assigned expatriates. This paper adds several original contributions to the IHRM literature. First, it expands knowledge on SIEs adjustment from a single country of origin living in a specific host country. Second, it enables a deep examination of the impact of the specific national context on SIEs adjustment as informed by certain historical and legal relations, as well as locally constructed hiring and employment practices.

Purpose This study aims to explore the synergy between green and digital capabilities and local sustainable development goal (SDG) action plans in governments of rapidly growing cities. It analyses their impact on green and digital government practices, ultimately contributing to sustainable development performance and providing insights for effective urban policy implementation. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative survey approach to investigate green-digital capabilities and local SDG actions within the civil service of Surabaya, a booming city in Indonesia. The respondents are civil servants selected through purposive sampling, totalling 217 participants. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling to validate the proposed research model. Findings This study provides empirical evidence that green dynamic capability significantly enhances local green and digital government practices, facilitating the integration of environmental policies with digital technologies. However, digital dynamic capability does not considerably affect local green government, suggesting a lack of synergy between digital innovation and environmental policies. Conversely, it positively influences local digital government, confirming its role in improving public administration. The local SDGs action plan positively influences local green government but shows no significant effect on digital government, indicating a disconnect between sustainability and digital transformation agendas. In addition, local green and digital government practices positively impact sustainable development, emphasising the importance of environmental policies and digitalisation in achieving sustainability goals. Originality/value This study contributes original insights by empirically examining the interplay between green-digital dynamic capabilities and local SDG actions in the context of integrated green-digital government practices, specifically within the booming city. It highlights the significant impact of green dynamic capabilities on both local green and digital government while revealing the unexpected lack of influence of digital dynamic capabilities on local green government. This research uniquely addresses the existing gap in the literature regarding the integration of sustainability and digital transformation in local governance, emphasising the need for improved synergy between environmental policies and digital innovation.

Community engagement in local governance is a crucial aspect of fostering inclusive and participatory decision-making processes. This paper explores and compares community engagement strategies in the United States and Africa, shedding light on the diverse approaches employed to enhance citizen involvement in local governance. In the United States, community engagement is deeply rooted in democratic principles, with a strong emphasis on transparency and collaboration between local governments and residents. Strategies such as town hall meetings, public forums, and online platforms are commonly used to facilitate dialogue and gather input from community members. The U.S. model also emphasizes the importance of community-based organizations, which play a vital role in advocating for the interests of local residents. This review delves into the effectiveness of these strategies, examining their impact on policy development and the overall governance landscape. In contrast, African countries exhibit a rich tapestry of community engagement strategies shaped by diverse cultural, social, and political contexts. Community assemblies, traditional councils, and community-based participatory approaches are often employed to integrate the voices of citizens into decision-making processes. The paper explores the challenges and opportunities associated with these strategies, considering factors such as cultural diversity, historical context, and the role of traditional leadership in African governance. Despite these regional differences, common themes emerge, emphasizing the importance of building trust, promoting inclusivity, and leveraging technology to enhance community engagement. Both the U.S. and African strategies face challenges such as overcoming socio-economic disparities, addressing power imbalances, and ensuring the meaningful inclusion of marginalized groups. The paper examines innovative initiatives and best practices that have emerged from both contexts, providing valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars interested in strengthening community engagement in local governance. This review contributes to the understanding of community engagement in local governance by drawing on examples from the United States and Africa. By highlighting the diversity of strategies and identifying common principles, the paper aims to inform future research, policy development, and practical initiatives aimed at fostering robust and inclusive local governance worldwide.