Urban Self-government Research Articles

“Veche”as a form of urban self-government in Russia

“Veche”as a form of urban self-government in Russia

The Collapse of State Power, the Cluniac Reform Movement, and the Origins of Urban Self-Government in Medieval Europe

AbstractSeveral generations of scholarship have identified the medieval development of urban self-government as crucial for European patterns of state formation. However, extant theories, emphasizing structural factors such as initial endowments and warfare, do little to explain the initial emergence of institutions of urban self-government before CE 1200 or why similar institutions did not emerge outside of Europe. We argue that a large-scale collapse of public authority in the ninth and tenth centuries allowed a bottom-up reform movement in West Francia (the Cluniac movement), directed by clergy but with popular backing, to push for ecclesiastical autonomy and asceticism in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. These social realignments, facilitated by new norms about ecclesiastical office holding, stimulated the urban associationalism that led to the initial emergence of autonomous town councils. Using a panel data set of 643 towns in the period between 800 and 1800, we show that medieval towns were substantially more likely to establish autonomous town councils in the period between 1000 and 1200 if they were situated in the vicinity of Cluniac monasteries. These findings are corroborated by regressions that use distance from Cluny—the movement's place of origin—to instrument for proximity to Cluniac monasteries.

Особенности трансформации организационно-правовой основы городского самоуправления Енисейской губернии в конце XIX века

Особенности трансформации организационно-правовой основы городского самоуправления Енисейской губернии в конце XIX века

City Self-Government in Russia at the End of XIX - XXI Centuries: Processes of Decentralization and Internal Structuring

The article is devoted to the problem of decentralization of urban self-government in Russia in the XIX - early XXI centuries. Both the practical experience of functioning of intra-urban municipalities (small urban units), and the level of theoretical understanding of the problems of decentralization in different periods of national history are analyzed in the article. The author has identified three time periods when the idea of creating a small city unit took on practical implementation: the revolutionary period in 1917-1918, the decade from 1995 to 2005 and the period from 2014 to the present. The author considers the socio-political context of the transformation at each of these stages. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of the regulatory framework in the studied area. It is shown that the legislation alternately ruled out, then allowed the possibility of creating intra-city municipalities, which impeded the progressive development of this level of municipal authority. The scientific novelty of the work is in the fact that the author revealed common typological features of the decentralization process that are characteristic of all the stages studied. It is concluded that the relatively low efficiency of a small urban unit is due to the politicization of its problems and the lack of historical continuity.

REGULATORY AND LEGAL PRINCIPLES OF ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT ON THE UKRAINIAN TERRITORIES (FIRST HALF OF XVIII MID-XIX CENTURY)

The scientific article is devoted to the study and comprehensive analysis of the peculiarities of the regulatory and legal foundations of the formation and development of local self-government in ukrainian territories. Taking into account the doctrinal study, it was stated that the formation and transformation of the regulatory and legal framework for the development of local self-government in the Ukrainian territories (the first half of the 18th mid-19th centuries) was combined with the fact that any bodies and officials entrusted with the functions of city administration were supposed to act in the interests of strengthening the existing system, improving the legal position of states prevailing in society. The establishment of various organizational forms of local self-government was also aimed at developing more flexible forms of local governance. Moreover, they functioned under the control and permanent guardianship of central state bodies and governors. In fact, this development led to the gradual integration of local authorities into the mechanism of the state. Only the degree of legal consolidation of powers by controlling authorities changed, which, in fact, had a rather negative effect on the independence of local governments, and, as a result, significantly reduced the effectiveness of their activities. But this influence of administration bodies had another, positive role, for example, educational influence arising from the cooperation of public institutions of self-government with institutions of administration, was especially noticeable on the example of peasants who went from indifference and unwillingness to participate in self-government to actively upholding their interests through active and purposeful participation. Thus, to the degree of independence of local self-government, the readiness of the population to independently solve issues of local importance plays an important role. The further development of capitalist relations after the abolition of serfdom, the growth of cities forced the authorities to make concessions in the field of urban self-government, which was reflected in further state-management reforms in the field of local self-government. It emphasized that considering the historical aspect of the development of domestic local self-government and public administration, it is necessary to take into account the following: on the part of the state there was a rather gradual authorization or assumption of the existence of local self-government in general. This is due to the fact that in each historical period, state authorities admit the presence of “ordinary” forms of self-government, since they fulfill the tasks set by the state. One of the factors determining the degree of freedom in the activities of local self-government and the existence of this phenomenon in general is the fact that at different stages the state and society have different goals and objectives, therefore, the most optimal system of social management develops from this.

The reform of the system of management of the cities of Galicia in 1889 in the context of regional policy of the Austria-Hungary

In the article it has been analyzed the specifics of the functioning of self-government bodies of the cities of Galicia in the second half of XIX century. It is proved that the law of 1889 facilitated the formation of elected bodies of self-government. It was indicated that the law of 1889 significantly expanded the rights of urban self-government. Compared to the previous laws (1862 s 1866), which concerned the big cities of Lviv and Krakow, the new law already includes 30 towns. Particular attention has been focused on functional responsibilities of public council and magistrate. They had the regulatory with supervisory and administrative executive functions respectively. A constant value membership of public council was set at 36, regardless of the number of residents. The head of both organization was burgomaster. His credentials included: organize the work of the council, sign documents, disciplinary control and representation of the city before the higher authorities. In return, the regional authorities have supervised that the bodies of self-government have not exceeded powers and has not violated the law. The innovation in 1889 caused by political motives and the need to increase the efficiency of self-governing bodies, elimination of shortcomings in their work. Among them: the fight against the absenteeism and the indifference of elected people, the creation of a managerial hierarchy between the Council and the magistrate, the creation of special control commissions, the audit of municipal finances, and the improvement of clerical management. The changes made it possible to extend the impact of cities on Galicia's socio-economic life.
 Keywords: Self-government, Magistrate, Burgomaster, Municipal Enterprises.

Genesis and Evolution of the Public in the Russian Empire Under the Conditions of Modernization in the Second Half of the 19th Century

The article analyzes the factors associated with the history of forming the basics and characteristic features of the phenomenon of the regional public as a constituent part of all-Russian modernization experiments in the second half of the 19th century. It was discovered that in the Stavropol Province, a Southern region of Russia, the evident minimal activity of the overwhelming majority of the population was determined by its peasant composition, the low number and poverty of the nobility and the prevalence of the merchant element in the urban self-government. At the same time, the points of growth were actively manifested through the so-called “newcomers” or nonresidents (those who moved into the region as a result of the abolition of selfdom in Russia and in fact could become full members of the established peasant “world”). These points of growth also included representatives of a number of confessions from those who could potentially, in the course of social development, open up to processes of public association in order to protect their social and cultural interests, having already certain traditions of organized activity, and well-educated population of the urban environment, constantly replenished by the steady development of the education system in the city and in the countryside and united in the framework of legal public organizations to solve various local problems.

Architectural Stimuli in the Perception of Urban Residents

The work is devoted to the study of social frustration and emotional reactions of citizens to architectural stimuli. It addresses the issues of differences in the level of social frustration of young and adult citizens and the relationship between social frustration and emotional responses to architectural stimuli. This study is relevant to the activities of practical psychologists, in personnel work with the staff, in the work of consulting centers, and other areas of work with people. Results and conclusions of the study emphasize the importance of the philosophical and anthropological parameters of the urban population, that cоuld be used by urban self-government in making various administrative decisions and the development of short- and long-term programs for the development of the city in various kinds of ideological actions.

The development of Chernivtsi urban self-government in the second half of XIX - early XX century

The development of Chernivtsi urban self-government in the second half of XIX - early XX century

Models of Legal Regulating Urban Self-Government in Russia in the Middle of 19th Century and Early 20th Century

Models of Legal Regulating Urban Self-Government in Russia in the Middle of 19th Century and Early 20th Century

THE EVOLUTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SELF-GOVERNMENT IN RUSSIA

УДК 34 The article highlights the main stages in the development of local government and self-gov-ernment in Russia. It shows the specifics of each stage. The formation of the Russian state was accompanied by the synthesis of the princely power and the community self-government. The genesis autocracy was accompanied by a struggle with the self-government institutions. The creation of rural and urban self-government in the second half of the XIX century was accom-panied by a debate on the social and public origin of these institutions. The Soviet state was based on the unity of the Soviet system. It concluded the discrete de-velopment of local self-government in Russia. There is no historical strong tradition of local government in this system. Objective of the article is to identify and characterize the main stages of development of local government and self-government in Russia. Show the discrete nature of the develop-ment of local self-government in Russia. The formation of the Russian state was accompanied by the synthesis of princely power and community self-government. Genesis autocracy was accompanied by a struggle with self-government institutions. The absence of territorial self-government in Russia was offset by the presence of social class municipality for a long time. Caste traditions tradition had a negative impact after the establishment of rural and urban self-government in the second half of the XIX century. During the preparation of the reforms and their implementation were discussions of the rela-tionship between the state and the community began in management. As a result, there is the inclusion of local authorities in the sphere of active state regulation. The desire of the county public to the political activity was suppressed by autocracy. The Provisional Government at-tempt to rely on the local self-government to create new authorities ended in failure. The Soviet state was based on a single management system. Certain powers was delegated at the local level. The local authorities have been transferred some resources to implement it. So the system of local budgets was build. The most successful period of the local govern-ment activity accounts for 1920s. The city and district are considered as the territorial foundation of local government. Scientific field formed that studies the feature of local govern-ment in the Soviet conditions. In the 1930s, there is centralization of government. The development of the city is subject to problems of industrialization and development of the rural areas is subject to problems of collectivization. The state policy does not consider the interests of local communities. The liberalization of the political regime in the late 1950s has led to a revival of the idea of decentralization. But decentralization of government is considered solely as an economic rather than a social and political problem. This understanding persisted until the end of the Soviet period. The lack of stable historical tradition of local government negatively affects the municipal development of the Russian Federation.

FORMATION OF THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL INSTITUTIONS (LOCAL COUNCIL) IN THE SOVIET UNION PRIOR TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE USSR IN 1924

The article describes the main stages of the conceptual framework of local institutions after the October Revolution of 1917, and especially its development before the first Federal Constitution in 1924 noted that the project initially considered the organization of local government in its present understanding So, the adoption of the first Soviet Constitution RSFSR in 1918 was preceded by discussions, which reflect the different embodiments of the apparatus of local authorities. The majority of the proposed project the organization of Soviet power at the local level (including, for example, "The establishment of the Soviets" Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, projects, SocialistRevolutionaries maximalists P.P. Rengarten, M.A. Reisner et al.), Although it declared "the triumph of the Soviet power ", based on the experience of rural and urban self-government and were imbued with their ideology. Tips met the authors of projects are not "combat weapon of the proletariat", but only by the local government, such zemstvos, which functioned until the October Revolution of 1917, and even some leading Soviet theorists in the early 1920s. the idea of local self-government was not denied - in particular, P.I. Stuchka put forward the "organic theory" of local government, which, however, was considered a transitional state theory to the control system on the ground. However, all such projects were rejected by the Commission of the Central Executive Committee, or simply not considered it as a constitutional commission sought to reflect the Constitution of the idea of the dictatorship of the victorious proletariat. And already in the Constitution of the RSFSR in 1918 it was fixed system of local councils that were formed in the townships, counties, provinces and regions in the form of a Congress of Soviets. And later became a sold option rigidly centralized system of local Councils, which is reflected in the Constitution of the USSR in 1924 and which defined the organizational and legal basis for the continued functioning of the institute of local Soviets in the Soviet state.

Searching for the better city: urban discourse during the Revolution of 1905 in the Kingdom of Poland

The main argument of this paper states that the Revolution of 1905, which established the era of modern politics in Central and Eastern Europe, was also an important landmark for the cities in the Kingdom of Poland. The rapid urbanisation and industrialisation of the Kingdom of Poland after the January Uprising brought irreversible change to the country’s social structure. New agents like the proletariat and the intelligentsia appeared in the urban space. As a result, urban contexts during the Revolution of 1905 were much more important in Russian Poland than in the Interior of the Russian Empire. A conflict arose between groups supporting different visions for the cities: traditional, moderately progressive and radical. Actually, the urban discourse of 1905 was a dispute about the scope of urban democracy. With reference to manifestos or projects for legal acts, as well as articles or reports from Warsaw’s national journals and the local press from Lodz, I examine changes in the Kingdom’s urban discourse—from criticism of the existing administration (the so-called Magistrats) to demands for introducing the modern system of self-governance. Urban discourse tells us a lot about the Polish middle-class and its ideological attitudes. During the Revolution, the initial democratic enthusiasm was soon replaced by the logic of exclusion. Established by the bourgeoisie as a consequence of the revolutionary exposure of class antagonism, it took measures to limit the influence of the working class and its political position in the future urban self-governance.

The Social and Legal Status of Jews in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its Influence on the Status of Tatars and Karaites

At the end of the fourteenth century, when Lithuania was baptized, three non-Christian communities — Jews, Tatars, and Karaites — began to settle in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and their legal and social status began to take shape. The segregation of Jews from Christians was legitimized in the first privilege granted for the Jews of Brest in 1388 by the Grand Duke Vytautas (Witold, Vita&ŭt) the Great. This privilege, which adapted Western variations of the Judenrecht to Lithuanian realities and introduced some local improvements, began the process of the formation of the legal and social status of non-Christians in the Grand Duchy. The expulsion of Jews to the margins of the estate system of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the establishment of the incumbency of the iudex iudeorum and internal community court, and the fully formed relations between the Jews and the legal system of the Grand Duchy were used as reference points in trying to define the legal status of the Tatars and the Karaites. In the case of Karaites, Magdeburg law, which was already known in Lithuania, was adopted. Grand Duke Casimir Jagiellon granted such a privilege to the Trakai (Troki) community in 1441, and the Karaite community’s life was organized according to the principles of the existing model of urban self-government. For some time the legal status of the Karaites differed from that of the Jews. Despite its uniqueness, Magdeburg law was not applied to the community’s everyday life, and the Karaites gradually absorbed the privileges granted for the Jews (especially that of 1646). The Tatars, who were socially stratified within their community and thus had different interests, were never granted a common privilege. Those ‘Jewish’ legal and social models, which were adapted for the Tatar community, were best revealed in the Third Lithuania Statute of 1588, which contained more regulations for non-Christians than its two predecessors. The content of its articles shows similarities of the social and legal status of non-Christians and the entrenchment of the social strata of non-Christians. The features of the model applied for regulating the state’s relations with the Jewish community might also be observed in the state’s relations with the Roma (Gipsy) community, which, although Christian, was considered unacceptable in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania because of its way of life.

Popular Support for Grassroots Self-Government in Urban China

Since the post-Mao reforms began, the Chinese central government has made efforts to revitalize the grassroots self-government system in urban areas in order to cope with the resulting sociopolitical changes. In 2000 the government stepped up its efforts by changing the old Residential Committee ( jumin weiyuanhui, or RC) to the new Community Residents' Committee ( shequ jumin weiyuanhui, or CRC) and by giving the latter more autonomy. Survey data that the authors collected in the urban areas of Beijing in 2004 indicate that most of their respondents supported the new CRCs and the current self-government system as a whole. Moreover, the authors found that urban residents' subjective orientations—such as their assessment of existing CRCs' performance, belief in democratic principles, sense of political efficacy, and life satisfaction—significantly influenced their support for the system; the type of housing complex was a sociopolitical contextual factor that also helped shape their support. These findings have important political implications for the future viability of the urban self-government system.

Does China’s middle class think and act democratically? Attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward urban self-government

In the West, the middle class has been considered a potent agent of the sociopolitical transition toward democracy and the cornerstone of democratic rule. Does a middle class in China think and act democratically and hence serve as the harbinger of democratic change in that country? This study attempts to answer this critical question by examining the attitudinal and behavioral orientations of middle-class individuals toward grassroots self-government in urban China. It is based on data collected from a representative-sample survey conducted in Beijing. The findings indicate that China’s middle class expects grassroots self-government to be formed in a democratic way; yet the middle class is critical of the currently-implemented self-government system because it is not organized as democratically as they expect, and therefore the middle class is less likely to participate in the system. These findings have significant implications for the role of the Chinese middle class in the democratization of China.

"Assisting our own": Urban Migration, Self-Governance, and Native Women's Organizing in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 1972-1989

"Assisting our own": Urban Migration, Self-Governance, and Native Women's Organizing in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 1972-1989

England under the Norman and Angevin kings, 1075-1225

Introduction 1. Political Patterns: The Struggle for the Succession, 1075-1225 The Cross-Channel Realm Court Politics Predatory and Punitive Rule Rebellion 2. England and Beyond: England and the British Isles England and the Wider World 3. Lordship and Government: Kingship and Lordship Regality The Household and Household Administration Itineration Assemblies Territorial Administration Royal Finances Courts and Judgements Records and Record-Keeping 4. The Aristocracy: The Structure of the Aristocracy The Aristocratic Estate The Life of the Aristocracy 5. Warfare: Waging War Recruitment Castles 6. The Rural Foundations: The Physical Framework Population Settlement Patterns Land Use and Agricultural Techniques The Manorial Economy Rural Social Structure 7. Towns and Trade: Urbanization Town Law Urban Self-Government London Urban Unrest The Jews Trade, the Framework Commodities Coinage and Monetization 8. The Institutional Church: The Hierarchy Kingly Power and Priestly Power The Religious 9. Religious Life: Concepts of the Holy Devotion Saints and their Cults Overseas Pilgrimage Dissent 10. Cultural Patterns: Languages and Literature Education and Higher Learning The Visual Arts Performance The Value of the Arts 11. The Course of Life: Childhood Naming Patterns Love, Sex, and Marriage Manners Medicine and Healing Death and the Dead 12. Cosmologies: Time The World The Chain of Being Beings Neither Angelic, Human, nor Animal Chronology of Political Events Bibliography Index Introduction 1. Political Patterns: The Struggle for the Succession, 1075-1225 The Cross-Channel Realm Court Politics Predatory and Punitive Rule Rebellion 2. England and Beyond: England and the British Isles England and the Wider World 3. Lordship and Government: Kingship and Lordship Regality The Household and Household Administration Itineration Assemblies Territorial Administration Royal Finances Courts and Judgements Records and Record-Keeping 4. The Aristocracy: The Structure of the Aristocracy The Aristocratic Estate The Life of the Aristocracy 5. Warfare: Waging War Recruitment Castles 6. The Rural Foundations: The Physical Framework Population Settlement Patterns Land Use and Agricultural Techniques The Manorial Economy Rural Social Structure 7. Towns and Trade: Urbanization Town Law Urban Self-Government London Urban Unrest The Jews Trade, the Framework Commodities Coinage and Monetization 8. The Institutional Church: The Hierarchy Kingly Power and Priestly Power The Religious 9. Religious Life: Concepts of the Holy Devotion Saints and their Cults Overseas Pilgrimage Dissent 10. Cultural Patterns: Languages and Literature Education and Higher Learning The Visual Arts Performance The Value of the Arts 11. The Course of Life: Childhood Naming Patterns Love, Sex, and Marriage Manners Medicine and Healing Death and the Dead 12. Cosmologies: Time The World The Chain of Being Beings Neither Angelic, Human, nor Animal Chronology of Political Events Bibliography Index

Khar'kov's Progressive Duma, 1910-1914: A Study in Russian Municipal Reform

Like their zemstvo counterparts, the municipal dumas played a major role in determining the quality of life in tsarist Russia from the Great Reforms until the Revolution in 1917. During this period of rapid urban growth, the dumas had the authority to regulate housing conditions. They bore major responsibility for ensuring an appropriate level of public health and sanitation, welfare and social services and for developing public education, transportation, parks, and recreational facilities.The restrictive municipal “counter reform” of 1892 destroyed some of the promise of urban self-government, however, and with few exceptions, city government entered the twentieth century with a reputation for apathy, indolence, and indifference to all but the narrow concerns of the tiny propertied elite to whom local affairs had been entrusted. Perhaps Den', a leftist paper, was too harsh when it characterized the record of a St. Petersburg duma as one of “criminal indifference and cynical unconcern.” But recently historians have taken a similar, if less biting view:

On Urban Representative Institutions and Self-Government in Syria-Palestine in the Second Half of the Second Millennium B.C.

On Urban Representative Institutions and Self-Government in Syria-Palestine in the Second Half of the Second Millennium B.C.