Contemporary Challenges to Local Self-Government and Democracy

Modern democracy is inconceivable without local governments, which have key functions in resolving local collective matters in democratically legitimate forms. They are, however, always subordinate to states, and also carry out functions on behalf of central government. Nevertheless, they execute a certain amount of self-government. Although there is extensive variation in terms of size, powers, functions and internal structure, European local government are the units of democracy closest to the citizens. After the fall of communism, democratic local government is now present in more European countries than ever before. At the same time, new challenges have emerged. The increasing complexity of societal problems has changed governing forms and multi-level governance systems have emerged of which local government is a part. European societies have become more globalised, urbanised and socially diverse. Low voter turnout and weaker political parties are undermining traditional forms of local representative democracy. Resource scarcity, in many countries linked to the financial crisis, and aging and more ethnically mixed populations put pressures on local services. The spread of ideas such as neo-liberalism and xenophobia add to the picture. Many of these changes are first experienced by local government and trigger local policy innovation. This section aims at exploring different ways that local government experiences and handles changes and challenges, with specific focus on consequences for self-government and local democracy. Panels will deal with the different changes that have been taking place and will provide room for both empirical studies and more theoretically oriented papers. We particularly welcome comparative studies and theoretically and methodologically innovative papers. This section is supported by the ECPR Standing Group on Local Government and Politics (LOGOPOL).