Quo Vadis? Putting Armenia on the Map of Local Autonomy in Europe

This study aims to assess the trajectories of local autonomy reforms across Europe during the last 30 years or so. While doing so, we also aim to place Armenia on the map of local autonomy. The analysis is carried out with the help of the index of local autonomy developed by Ladner and colleagues (Ladner, Keuffer and Baldersheim 2015, 20-23). The scores for Armenia were computed through policy content analysis based on the relevant provisions of the Law on Local Self-Government, the Tax Code and other legal acts. We hypothesise that local autonomy has significantly increased as a result of these reforms. However, we also hypothesise that it remains below the European average. The main findings demonstrate that most countries in Europe have recorded minor if any changes over the last 30 years. We explain this by suggesting that most of these countries have already reached an optimal level of autonomy. Our hypothesis that local autonomy has significantly increased in Armenia between 2014 and 2018 was confirmed. Our second hypothesis that Armenia was still behind the European average was also confirmed but our reasoning was not supported by our results.