Local Government in a Challenged World

In the turmoil of the recent crises, institutions and citizens have faced unprecedented circumstances. This is true for the ongoing pandemic as well as for the global financial crisis of 2008/09 and other pivotal societal changes (climate change, demographics, ageing societies, etc...). Crises are forcing governments, including those at the local levels, to manage difficulties on top of other long-time present challenges they face, often re-inforcing or accelerating ongoing developments. This section aims to disentangle the multiple challenges local government in Europe and beyond is facing in current times, both by studying the challenges themselves and the responses local governments are using to counter problems. How do local governments react to the challenges imposed? Do global crises trigger a change also in the handling of already existing challenges? Are crises further constraints, or do they also help discover new innovative avenues at the local level (in public policies, in administration/organization, in multi-level relations, in service delivery, in democratic procedures and representation, in local politics, etc.)? Have crises changed local democracy and how local governments relate to their citizens (e.g., local political leadership, political rules, etc.) and vice versa (electoral participation, participatory democracy, etc.)? Furthermore, are crises the cause of the kind and extent local governments manage their tasks (by multi-level, inter-institutional, cross-border cooperation, contracting-out, merging, etc.)?