Local Government System Research Articles

THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM IN KAZAKHSTAN: THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM IN KAZAKHSTAN

The article is devoted to the analysis of the problems of formation and development of the institute of local self-government in Kazakhstan. I analyze the current state of local self-government in Kazakhstan, political-administrative, socio-economic problems and problems related to the participation of the population in self-government are identified. With the help of a sociological survey of experts, the identified problems are clarified. In conclusion, the author suggests a number of measures that will help improve the situation in local self-government, including strengthening the legal framework, increasing the efficiency of budget financing and increasing the level of public participation in local self-government affairs. The article may be of interest to specialists engaged in the study of the local government system.

From an alternative to a dominant form of local political actors? Independent candidates in the Czech local elections in 2010–2018

ABSTRACT This article aims to contribute to the debate on the rise of independents in local politics and the underlying factors driving this trend in Europe by investigating the situation in Czechia, a post-communist country with a highly fragmented local government system. This study uses statistical analyses of electoral data from the 2010, 2014 and 2018 local elections to test the relevance of supply-side and demand-side explanations of the rise of independents. The analysis results show that the political strength of independents in Czech local elections has steadily increased during the last decade. Both tested theoretical models are valid but the effects of supply-side and demand-side factors are highly conditioned by municipalities’ population sizes.

Financial Autonomy: Panacea for Improved Service Delivery in Imo State Local Government System

Local governments in Nigeria have been criticized for their low performance despite the huge revenue being injected into the system. This study offers an explanation for the remote causes of the failure of the local government system in Nigeria, using selected local governments across the three senatorial districts in Imo State as a frame of reference. The study argues that lack of financial autonomy, systemic corruption, and inadequate funding are the major hindrances crippling efforts to improve service delivery for the benefit of those residing in the localities. It further argues that while the internal sources of revenue available to local governments are not sufficient to provide essential services to rural dwellers, the relatively meaningful external sources are controlled by higher tiers (state and federal) of government in Nigeria. It uses mixed methods to generate and analyze data, and sources of data include available literature, responses from interviewees, and personal experience as a one-time active player in the local government system in Imo State. The examination of available literature and data analysis discovers that there is a lacuna in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which the higher tiers cash in on to manipulate the crucial third-tier governments. It is, therefore, the conclusion of this study that improvement in service delivery can be tremendously achieved when the third tier enjoys financial autonomy commensurate with the services it renders to the local communities.

The Impact of Administrative Intensity on Financial Sustainability in Local Government: An Empirical Analysis of New South Wales

The Impact of Administrative Intensity on Financial Sustainability in Local Government: An Empirical Analysis of New South Wales

Local institutions, actors and governance systems under farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in Northwestern Ghana

Local institutions, actors and governance systems under farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in Northwestern Ghana

미국의 유초연계 교육거버넌스가 한국에 주는 시사점 탐색

[Purpose] This study explores how to establish a local and village-centered governance system for continuity between educational institution for early childhood and elementary school(CEECES) in Korea.
 [Methods] To do so, this study summarized the current status of system of CEECES in Korea and compared it to the U.S. Pre-K-12 systems.
 [Results] Based on the U.S. Pre-K-12 system, This study found the problems of the CEECES that early childhood education institutions are divided into daycare centers and kindergartens, there is a lack of teacher education programs related to alignment, curriculum alignment is based on simple transitions, and there is a lack of parental involvement.
 [Conclusion] To build Korean-style governance of CEECES, It is necessary for the District Office of Education to play the role of a control tower, the school principal to play the role of a leader in education governance, and a robust meta-governance mechanism between the government and the governance of CEECES.

주민자치조직의 지역공동체 의식에 관한 연구

Since the restoration of the self-governance system in 1995, Korea has been striving to stabilize the implementation of the local government system and expand local autonomy to overcome the limitations of representative democracy. In 1998, a local self-governance committee was established and operated to reflect the needs of residents through participation and communication at the town, village, and district levels, which are the basic units of local self-governance, but it did not achieve its purpose. Therefore, in 2010, a special law was enacted to expand the scope of resident participation, which was a limitation of resident autonomy committees. The purpose of the Act was to establish an efficient public service system by expanding residents' participation and restoring local traditional communities. This study sought to verify the effectiveness of the neighborhood association conversion policy by comparing the sense of community in neighborhoods that were converted to neighborhood associations and those that were not converted to neighborhood associations.
 Quantitative research was used as the research method, and the research model and hypotheses were derived through theoretical discussions on major factors such as residents' self-governance capacity as an independent variable and community consciousness as a dependent variable. A survey tool was utilized to measure residents' sense of community. Questionnaires were distributed to residents visiting 44 administrative wards in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, and the collected questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS version 27.0. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, correlation, and multiple regression analysis were performed on the collected survey responses.
 The results of the study showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the level of residents' sense of community between neighborhood councils and neighborhood committees. This suggests that the policy of converting neighborhood committees into neighborhood associations had an unexpected effect, resulting in a policy error. In order to improve the sense of community and restore traditional neighborhoods, it is necessary to increase the level of residents' ‘local attachment’, ‘local identity’, and ‘sense of fulfillment’. It is also necessary to verify the professional competence of community council members to ensure their representation. In addition, it will be possible to overcome the limitations of representative democracy by solving local problems with residents through connecting with local resources and community organizations.

Trends in the Development of Digitalisation of Document Management Systems and Services in Public Authorities

The purpose of the work is to analyse and characterise the current state of development of electronic document management systems and services in the field of public administration, to outline directions for their improvement in the conditions of a digital society, in particular at the local level of state authorities. Research methodology lies in the application of general scientific and special methods of cognition; in particular, methods of comparative analysis, terminological and other research methods, and also methods of analytical Internet monitoring. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the trends and modern characteristics of document management information systems and services in the field of public administration at the local level are traced. The importance of solving organisational problems of integrating the entire complex of administrative services to meet the needs of citizens and functional aspects, taking into account the existing structures of executive bodies of the city council, is emphasised. Prospective directions for the development of electronic document management and service based on modern technologies have been identified: smart technologies (social card, electronic ticket, etc.), digital services and the "Action" application, development of electronic identification infrastructure in the field of administrative services. Conclusions. Ukraine has sufficient technological and organisational prerequisites for the development of electronic document management and service in the government structure. Implementation of the above systems has many advantages, including: the ability to organise productive work with information resources generated from various sources; to increase the efficiency of interaction between organisations and citizens, the functioning of all components of the local government system, to reduce the time frame for preparing and making management decisions by digitising the processes of collective creation and use of documents, and to increase the efficiency of the work of both individual employees and a specific local government body. Today, the legal and theoretical framework for solving the issue of improving the work of local state authorities in the field of electronic services is considered sufficient for its practical solution and further improvement. Keywords: information systems, electronic document management, electronic services, state administration bodies, local state authorities, administrative services, information and communication technologies.

Scientific views on the role of Starosta (Elder) in the local government system

The article is devoted to describing and analyzing the scientific views of national scientists on the role of starosta in the system of local self-government in Ukraine. The relevance and timeliness of the study is due to the fact that the practical implementation of the idea of decentralization proves to be effective every time, while the introduction of the starosta institute has become a new historical milestone in this process. It is determined that starosta as a form of participatory democracy is an integral part of the development of the modern Ukrainian model of local self-government. The researchers’ vision of who the starosta is for the residents of a particular territorial community is presented. The article reveals the commonality of researchers’ approaches to the role of starosta as the closest representative of local self-government, as well as a communicator between the residents of the respective starosta district and local authorities. He or she also acts as an intermediary between residents and the authorities. In addition, it is believed that the starosta can consult, advise and assist in solving problems arising in the community. The purpose of creating the institution of starostas in local self-government bodies in Ukraine is emphasized. The article presents the powers of starosta as defined by the Law of Ukraine «On Local Self-Government in Ukraine». The author offers one of the scientific approaches to the classification of starosta’s functions formulated on the basis of the analysis of his/her powers. These functions are: representative; budgetary; informational; control; constituent; organizational. The study analyzes the requirements that could be mandatory for a person who plans to be a starosta. For example, age, affiliation (certain connection) with the territorial community, special education, knowledge of the basics of local self-government, experience, etc. The author outlines the areas for further scientific research on the implementation of the starosta institute. These areas include: the definition and method of regulatory consolidation of starosta’s powers, their balance and the reality of their application. It is noted that prevention of corruption is another area of scientific research, without which the implementation of the institute is impossible. It is determined that it is necessary to strengthen the positive features of the modern starosta institution, to reveal its role, to increase productivity and efficiency.

Problems on the path of formation of local self-government in France

The article is devoted to defining the peculiarities of the genesis of local self-government in France. The peculiarities of the formation of local self-government in the countries of continental law, in particular France and Ukraine, are determined. A superficial comparative analysis of the implementation of the powers of local self-government bodies in Ukraine and France at various stages of the countries’ development was conducted. The article states that the then French system of local self-government did not fully implement the principle of electability of all bodies and officials of local self-government, and at the end of the XIX century. this criterion was considered the main characteristic of administrative decentralization and began to be applied even to departmental self-government. It was noted that French society actively discussed the issue of the direction of the further development of the local self-government system. The scientific article contains information about forms of self-government similar to France in Belgium and Italy; in comparison with England, the state system of France should be considered not a democracy, but a bureaucracy. The article mentions the French revolution, the struggle against regionalism, the elimination of provinces and the creation of a new system of districts. The strengthening of the regionalization process, which went into decline only by the middle of the 20th century, is analyzed. The constant interest in the system of local self­government in France, especially the period of the French Republic, when a model of local self-government with broad representation, based on secret, universal, equal suffrage, was first proposed (during the 19th - early 20th centuries in Europe) is emphasized. The article states that the attitude towards the French model of local self-government depended on the perception of France itself, which sometimes led to a distorted perception of its organization of local self-government. The tendency is especially noticeable in the works of German political scientists and legal scholars. It was determined that the concepts of local self-government and decentralization of power were not distinguished and detailed in France, so due to the confusion of terms during administrative decentralization, the development of the system of self-government as a political institution of language in France was somewhat behind. It was established that the negative attitude towards the French system of local government, which developed during the period of the second monarchy and was supported by German jurists and political scientists, persisted even after the reform of 1871.
 It was concluded that the development and formation of local self-government in France had its own problems, but this did not prevent it from arriving at an effective both legislative and practical model of the exercise of powers by local self-government bodies.

Grassroots Democracy and Local Governance Issues: Perspective from Rural India

Objective: This paper aims to focus on grassroots democracy in India and also to find out the role local self-government for the development of rural India and its challenges to govern. Methods: The methodological path taken by using the secondary based data to find out the local government system and governance in India. The method approach was qualitative descriptive research. Results and conclusion: The Panchayati Raj system of local self-government was introduced by the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution of India which influenced the village life extensively as one of the most important units of democratic decentralization. Seventy-third Constitutional Amendment Act, ‘Empowering People for Prosperity´, brings out a significant change in the attitude, behavior and performance of the rustic folk in India. There are more than 250,000 local government bodies across India with nearly 3.1 million elected representatives. This paper reveals forward states provide good governance through the local government in the core areas of development with execution of plans in rural India and on the other hand, backward states are lack in governance due to nature the corruption laden politics exist in those states. Implication of the research: This study sums up with the significance of grassroots democracy and its role in the development of rural India and at the same time to highlights the hurdle in the governance ecosystem of local governments in rural India. Originality/value: The value of this study lies in its focus on a relatively aspect of grassroots governance system in India. It addresses a significant gap in the current literature, providing fresh insights into governance system in rural India and the strengthen the grassroots democracy.

Revitalization of Civil Participation of the Population in the Activities of Local Self-Government Bodies

Civil participation of the population in Kazakhstan is considered one of the most important factors in the development of local government system, while the actual level of participation remains at a low level. The forms of manifestation of civil and social participation of the population in the realization of citizens’ rights to governance are limited, and social passivity is a characteristic feature for residents of local regions. The relevance of the research work is determined by the need to activate the civil participation of the population in the activities of Local Self-Government Bodies in Turkestan as a typical representative of a small urban district. The primary purpose of the research work is to find and substantiate ways to activate the civil participation of the population in the activities of Local Self-Government Bodies in Turkestan. Research methods such as Descriptive analytics (Nearest Neighbor Analysis), Diagnostic analytics (Pearson’s R - Spearman Correlation) and Predictive analytics (Neural Networks - Multilayer Perceptron) were used. Statistical and Analytical research was carried out using SPSS and R statistics software. A sociological survey was conducted among residents of Turkestan, and other materials were collected from such sources as the results of structural appeals of citizens to the administration of Turkestan and the results of the activities of the administration of Turkestan in the field of working with citizens’ appeals. As a result, the main causes of problems of civil activity of the population in Turkestan were identified and the “Solution Tree” method was used to solve the main problems in this region.

수도권과 비수도권에서의 지역균형발전방안 인식연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze the status of balanced regional development policies at home and abroad, and to examine the public opinion of local experts in order to identify differences in perception of balanced regional development plans in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, and to present suitable balanced regional development plans. The balanced regional development plan was divided into policies, plans, projects, and systems through cross-analysis by conducting surveys of balanced regional development policies and experts at home and abroad. In the policy sector, local experts in large cities recognized industrial, population, capital, culture, and educational facilities as very important. On the other hand, local experts in small and medium-sized cities recognized the decentralization and localization of the regional policy promotion system as very important compared to other local experts. In the planning sector, local experts in small and medium-sized cities recognized the plan to revitalize the local economic zone as very important. In the project sector, local experts in large cities recognized the evaluation and monitoring of the performance of balanced regional development projects as very important. In the system sector, local experts in small and medium-sized cities recognized the easing of polarization and strengthening local government policy acceptance capacity as very important. Therefore, the government should establish a regional development system that is differentiated from the metropolitan area, in order to induce the influx of companies and residents. It is also necessary to establish a capacity building system for local governments to promote policies that reflect regional characteristics rather than uniform policies.

Filling the gaps in local governance: an analysis of the structure and process of informal community governance in Ibadan, Nigeria

The Nigerian local government system’s failure is widely documented, yet little is known about an alternative governance framework that communities have developed to tend to their needs. Using a case study methodology, this paper investigates the structure and process of informal community governance by which communities in Ibadan, Nigeria, fill in the gaps in local government. Documents and key informant interviews with community leaders provided qualitative data. The findings reveal that informal community governance systems are functioning well in Ibadan. Their governance process is open to all, participatory democracy is visible, and corruption is not tolerated. While Nigeria’s official local government structure lacks the governance and democratic culture essential for meaningful, long-term local development, this paper’s analysis shows that those features are being nurtured in the local community setting. The findings serve to draw attention to the need to institutionalise community governance as a form of local government capable of addressing a wide range of present and emerging community needs.

Decentralisation and political empowerment of citizens in Karamoja, Uganda

For centuries, centralisation was the dominant model of governance in most parts of the developing world. However, since the mid-1980s many countries in Africa have adopted decentralisation owing to the failure of centralisation to deliver public goods to citizens. In 1992, Uganda adopted decentralisation policy reforms to give ordinary citizens more control over their own administration and development agenda. This article reports case study research conducted in Karamoja, Uganda to establish the extent to which decentralisation reforms have indeed empowered local people. Research findings revealed mixed results. Although decentralisation resulted in the creation of the local government system, which in principle offers representational governance for different interest groups in local communities, ordinary citizens have fallen short of being politically empowered. State–society power relations have remained unaltered in favour of local elites. The authors contend that for political empowerment of citizens to be achieved, there is a need to devolve a considerable amount of autonomy to local governments and review the law to make local elites subordinate to citizen representatives.

Historical preconditions of democratic changes in the context of the formation and development of Ukrainian statehood

The article examines the democratic origins of the social and state system in different historical periods. Important state-building legal sources are considered: Magdeburg law, Lithuanian statutes, the Constitution of Philip Orlyk, which had a decisive influence on the establishment of the foundations of the republican democratic state governed by the rule of law. The order of origin and acceptance of the privileges of the Magdeburg law by the cities of Ukraine is clarified. The democratic principles of the state and local system in different periods from the times of Kievan Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to the Cossack state were revealed. The peculiarities of the administrative-territorial system during the stay of the Ukrainian lands as part of the Russian Empire, as well as the centralized system of the Soviet period, are considered.
 The role of civic self-government as the basis of local government, the process of change of power as the basis of democracy is defined. It is proved that Ukrainian statehood has democratic foundations and roots, including due to the influence of the Western political and legal space. In this regard, systemic changes, especially at the local government level, are aimed at restoring and reviving lost democratic roots and building a developed local government system.

Tough Lessons for UN Peacekeeping Operations

With the future of UN peacekeeping once again up for debate, it’s worth reflecting on the lessons of the past 30 years. UN operations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali and elsewhere have had to contend with complex local and regional systems of power and governance that have major influences on missions’ prospects for success. In The Political Economy of Civil War and UN Peace Operations, Mats Berdal and Jake Sherman pull together an excellent set of essays that identify the signal lessons of UN peacekeeping in dealing with these systems, and offer a credible set of policy prescriptions. The book makes a compelling case for a better understanding of the political economy of conflict, and less expansive mission mandates that are attuned to the local context.

Legal Ambiguity and Land Dispossession: Multi-Scale Conflicting Views on Territorial Authority at the Herlen Bayan-Ulaan State Reserve Pasture Area, Mongolia.

Abstract The Mongolian government pursues various objectives that are often assumed to benefit citizens, including socio-economic development, biodiversity conservation and innovative technologies in the agricultural sector to adapt to climate change. But, for pastoralists, these activities have allowed the appropriation of pastoral lands from their home jurisdictions, the process of which is often murky and ambiguous. The vision for development held by different international and national agents sometimes fails to recognise the complexity inherent in converting pastoral land for alternative economic and conservation development. This paper examines a recent legal battle focused on the Herlen Bayan-Ulaan State Reserve Pasture Area, where different stakeholders put forward contested claims of authority over rural jurisdictional territories. The conflict is rooted in the ambiguous and conflicting co-existence of liberal and statist approaches to socio-economic policies applied by the Mongolian government. Whereas the socialist period system's imposition of exclusive state control reduced local actors' (government and residents) control and authority over resources governance, the post-socialist period system promoted 'alternative economic and conservation activities' and protected state and individual property rights, leaving mobile pastoralists with highly ambiguous claims. This paper argues that the state ought to have a specific role of providing an adequate legislative and executive framework to support more complex interdependent multi-scale pastoral institutions. This paper describes the changing role of the state in land governance, wherein the state has assumed all management and financial authority while subjecting pastoralists to conflicting legislative and executive policies. This has eroded the local systems of land and resource governance and created an open access scenario, allowing appropriation of jurisdictional pastoral lands. This trend of exclusive state control has the implication of contradicting and dismantling a longstanding interdependent pastoral institutional environment and has been counterproductive to enhancing natural resource management and the adaptive capacity of local actors to climate change.

Local Governments Facing Turbulence: Robust Governance and Institutional Capacities

Crisis environments, which are becoming systemic, pose significant challenges to local governments. The present study sought to present an academic contribution by introducing an analytical framework designed to scrutinize the institutional capabilities of local governance bodies in effectively responding to the emergent structural nature of crises within contemporary contexts. The study centered its attention on the concept of robust governance and accentuated a collection of factors that facilitate proficient public administration: contingency planning capacity, analytical capacity, organizational management capacity, and collaborative capacity. The paper presented a broad analysis of academic literature on the subject and it defined an analytical model for assessing local government capacities to deal with crises. One of the achievements of this work was the identification of key indicators that elucidate the institutional capabilities of local government bodies in addressing crisis environments. Through the examination of these indicators, the suggested analytical framework offers a comprehensive methodology for evaluating the readiness of municipal authorities in dealing with crisis situations. Furthermore, it enables comparative analysis of local government systems in analogous contexts, facilitating the identification of exemplary strategies for enhancing crisis management. The analytical model needs to be validated in further empirical studies.

Local Government Vertical Upward Accountability, Oversight, and the Intervention Mechanism in South Africa

Since democratisation, South Africa has struggled to create a stable system of local governance. There are constant municipal failures. Higher levels of government have to intervene in municipalities regularly. This study, therefore, set out to assess the effect of intervention mechanisms, including preventative measures, as part of the broader accountability and oversight setting. Based on a qualitative research approach, this paper argues that both prospective and retrospective accountability forms are weak. Post-factum interventions yield only limited results. Overall, these mechanisms are not able to form stable local governments and prevent municipal failures. Ultimately, this paper infers that strengthening prospective accountability and oversight mechanisms has the capacity to increase the stability of the local governance system. This finding has important implications for developing new accountability and oversight practices in South Africa and elsewhere.