Configurations of Local Autonomy in Europe. Towards an Empirical Typology of Countries

In comparative local government studies, building typologies from the intergovernmental perspective (discussing the multifaceted relationship between local and central layers) has traditionally taken a central place. Over time, more qualitative and categorical approaches have been complemented with rather quantitative and discrete measures. Meanwhile, the original confinement to (part of) the West has been extended, in Europe mainly to include the East. The empirical and inductive typology proposed in our paper aligns with the quantitative and discrete approach and focusses on local autonomy as a key aspect of intergovernmental relations. It aims to distinguish clusters of countries with similar configurations thereof. We claim this adds depth (i.e. dimensions and aspects included in our numerical and scalar measurement of local autonomy) and scope (i.e. range of countries and points in time scrutinized to assess the diversity and the dynamics of local autonomy) to this emerging stream in the literature. The paper will thereby draw on the data collected for the comparative project of the Local Autonomy Index (see: http://local-autonomy.andreasladner.ch). In the context of this project we scrutinized 11 variables to gauge local autonomy (with a specific focus on the dimensions of policy and polity) in 39 countries probing into potential evolutions over time from 1990 to 2014.