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Territory and scale have been some of the most relevant topics in recent political science, but do we know enough about cooperation between local governments? How we think about local government has changed significantly and requires us to be equipped with new epistemological gear, considering more variables and social functions of local government than before. For instance, is inter-municipal cooperation a special arrangement? The answer is certainly positive, not as a consequence of its nature when compared to other alternatives of policy coordination and service delivery, but because it captures almost every facet of the complexity of contemporary territorial governance. Bringing relevant case-studies, previous research, and available literature together, this book will help researchers, students and practitioners with these ideas. The author provides comprehensive information about inter-municipal cooperation and identifies the main gaps in contemporary research.

One recognises that political leadership still makes a difference. However, scholarship seems incapable of offering the proper tools to provide further and relevant understanding on the theme, particularly when we consider liberal democracy's current trends, namely its egalitarian ethos and the personalisation of politics. One of its key features, even in strongly controlled democracies, with tight systems of checks and balances, is the ascendancy of assertive leaders, to whom voters look when deciding on which party to vote for. Therefore, a dispassionate assessment of political leadership is needed in order to adjust our analysis: from the qualities of particular individuals, their intentions, perspectives and preferences, to the way leaders perform their role. This article intends to identify what is the specific nature and distinctiveness of contemporary political leadership, arguing that the nature of the task sets new problems in the political science literature and asks for new approaches. Adapted from the source document.

Under certain circumstances the style of leadership of mayors can be the result of their context perceptions and their sense of political autonomy and efficacy. This assessment indicates that the political action of the mayor discloses a particular style of leadership that derives from his/her political will. This article suggests an analysis of political will that intends to explain why local leaders adopt facilitative styles of leadership. In this formulation, the leadership facilitative style is a consequence of the political will to act accordingly, and this is explained by three main determinants: the leaders' awareness of their complex and networked context, their independent sense of autonomy and their belief about their own political efficacy. Results from case studies, with extensive interviews with mayors, conducted in Portuguese municipalities, will be presented to reinforce and explore these hypotheses and to discuss the feasibility of this framework. Adapted from the source document.

One recognises that political leadership still makes a difference. However, scholarship seems incapable of offering the proper tools to provide further and relevant understanding on the theme, particularly when we consider liberal democracy's current trends, namely its egalitarian ethos and the personalisation of politics. One of its key features, even in strongly controlled democracies, with tight systems of checks and balances, is the ascendancy of assertive leaders, to whom voters look when deciding on which party to vote for. Therefore, a dispassionate assessment of political leadership is needed in order to adjust our analysis: from the qualities of particular individuals, their intentions, perspectives and preferences, to the way leaders perform their role. This article intends to identify what is the specific nature and distinctiveness of contemporary political leadership, arguing that the nature of the task sets new problems in the political science literature and asks for new approaches.

Local governments are increasingly seen as key facilitators of co-governance processes, enabling collaborative local networks. It is claimed in this article that the necessarily synergistic relationship between local government and civil society in facilitating governance mechanisms requires further elaboration. The issue of who initiates grassroots governance and how autonomous from political power it really is, is seminal to the definition of governance itself. Literature on co-governance lacks the recognition of the impacts of institutional incentives to civic participation, which may not always have the desired effects. This article intends to weigh up the autonomy of grassroots governance and the extent to which it corresponds to a mechanism of shared responsibilities. Through the analysis of data from Portuguese municipalities, it contributes to a wider discussion on the nature and distinctiveness of grassroots governance,arguing that it may add new problems to the research agenda and asking for new approaches. ; Lokalne vlasti sve se češće smatraju ključnim faktorima olakšavanja procesa suupravljanja, budući da omogućavaju postojanje lokalnih mreža suradnje. U radu se tvrdi da nužno sinergijska povezanost lokalnih vlasti i civilnoga društva u olakšavanju primjene mehanizama vlasti traži dodatna pojašnjenja. Pitanje tko inicira upravljanje građana i koliko je ono uistinu neovisno od političke vlasti, najvažnije je za definiciju samoga termina upravljanja. Literaturi o suupravljanju nedostaje prepoznavanje učinaka institucionalnih poticaja participaciji građana u vlasti, što nema uvijek najpoželjnije posljedice. Cilj rada je odrediti samostalnost upravljanja građana kao i granicu do koje ono korespondira mehanizmu razdijeljenih odgovornosti. Kroz analizu podataka iz portugalskih lokalnih jedinica, rad pridonosi široj raspravi o prirodi i posebnosti upravljanja građana, tvrdeći da ono može otvoriti nova istraživačka pitanja te tražeći nove istraživačke pristupe.