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Good Local Governance. Local Government Reform in Global Perspective. An Introduction

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Local Governance Reform in Global Perspective

Abstract

“On the one hand, local governments are to act as the vehicle of local democracy, providing services responsive to local needs and conditions. On the other hand, local governments must constitute the local branch of the nation-state administrative apparatus, executing state policies in key-policy areas. Here, bureaucratic efficiency is the key objective.” (Pierre 1995: 38). “Good local governance” reflects this dual function of local government. On the one hand, democratic regimes gain acceptance by their responsiveness and by acting in accordance with the preferences of their citizens. On the other hand, legitimacy can be achieved by effectively delivering public services and promoting the common welfare, which is by increasing the output-legitimacy of the local and the national system of democracy. Although these two paths, “local administrative reform” and “participatory reform”, are often viewed as contradictory, neither of them can be neglected when seeking to promote the stability and survival of a democratic system. In a broader multilevel government framework, functional, fiscal and territorial aspects become important issues.

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Authors
  1. Norbert Kersting
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  2. Janice Caulfield
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  3. R. Andrew Nickson
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  4. Dele Olowu
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  5. Hellmut Wollmann
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Kersting, N., Caulfield, J., Nickson, R.A., Olowu, D., Wollmann, H. (2009). Good Local Governance. Local Government Reform in Global Perspective. An Introduction. In: Local Governance Reform in Global Perspective. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-91686-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-91686-6_1

  • Publisher Name: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-531-16953-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-531-91686-6

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