Suchergebnisse

This article tries to build a case for more rigorous and systematic comparative research on local politics, i.e., on the actors, instruments, institutions, and processes of place-bound governance. It discusses the opportunities (i.e. the methodological advantages in tackling descriptive, explanatory, and pragmatic questions) as well as the obstacles often associated with this approach (i.e. the existence of multiple middle-level theories and a number of methodological trade-offs innate to the comparative method). The article attempts to provide a timely state of the art of the field, and in doing so discerns three phases. The first two can be summarised as addressing the challenge of classification (with a more descriptive and a more explanatory variant rooted in old institutionalism) while the third may be said to address theorisation (where description and explanation are embedded in new institutionalism). Each phase is illustrated by one or more cases representative of that stage of development and the underlying complexities. In terms of classification, the article tries to demonstrate how the classic categorical approach to intergovernmental relations, focused on the West, gives way to a more discrete outlook, including cases from the rest of Europe. Equally, the intragovernmental perspective has gradually entered the picture (sometimes in combination with its earlier counterpart in more integrated modes of local democracy). With regard to theorisation, the (comparative) evolution of regime analysis from a mould of governing to a mode of governance is taken as a case in point. For the nowadays dominant concept of governance, contemporary assessments are increasingly considering the consequences of the empirically established albeit contingent shift away from government. In addition, the article formulates some prospects for improvement within the field in terms of explanations (i.e., multi-tiered with a primary focus on the local), theories (i.e., developing and testing empirical implications or propositions viable across and within levels), designs (i.e., maximising the added values of propinquity and numerosity), and measurement (i.e., addressing issues of equivalence). ; Zagovara se potreba strožeg i sustavnijeg pristupa komparativnim istraživanjima lokalne politike, tj. istraživanjima koja se bave akterima, instrumentima, institucijama i procesima u lokalnom sustavu upravljanja. Navode se prednosti takvog pristupa (prisutne kad se metodologija istraživanja bavi deskriptivnim, eksplanativnim i pragmatičkim pitanjima) kao i njegovi nedostaci (mnogobrojne teorije srednjeg dometa i kompromisi nužno prisutni u metodologiji komparativnih istraživanja).Rad nudi pregled komparativnih istraživanja lokalne politike te specificira tri razvojne faze. Prve dvije faze se bave izazovom klasifikacije (gdje postoje deskriptivnija i eksplanativnija varijanta, a obje imaju temelje u starom institucionalizmu), dok se treća faza bavi teorijskim razvojem (i opis i objašnjenje imaju temelj u novom institucionalizmu). Za svaku se fazu navodi jedan ili više reprezentativnih slučajeva kako bi se predočila složenost i dostignuća svake faze. Što se tiče klasifikacije, u radu se nastoji prikazati kako klasični kategorijski pristup usmjeren na zapadne zemlje polako postaje raznovrsniji i uključuje slučajeve iz ostalih dijelova Europe. Istodobno postupno jača prisutnost unutarupravne perspektive, ponekad u kombinaciji s njenim ranijim ekvivalentom u integriranijim oblicima lokalne demokracije. Što se tiče teorijskog razvoja, dolazi do prijelaza s koncepta vladanja (governing) i njegovih varijanti na governance koncept te se suvremene analize sve se više bave posljedicama empirijski dokazanog udaljavanja od koncepta vladanja. Rad također nudi nekoliko prijedloga za poboljšanje istraživanja, posebno u pogledu tumačenja (primjerice višerazinsko s fokusom na lokalno upravljanje), teorija (predlaže se razvoj i provjera empirijskih implikacija ili prijedloga koji će biti održivi na više razina i unutar razina), oblikovanja (predlaže se iskoristiti dodanu vrijednost brojnosti i blizine predmeta istraživanja) i mjerenja (bavljenje pitanjima ekvivalencije).

"Auf dem Gebiet der kommunalpolitischen Führung in Europa wird ein Trend in Richtung eines starken Bürgermeisters als unternehmerischer Visionär festgestellt. In vielen europäischen Verfassungen überwiegt indes noch Kollektivismus." (Autorenreferat)

This paper scrutinises local party system nationalisation beyond the national versus non-national dichotomy in the context of Belgium. Three main points stand out. First, a more close-knit assessment of the vertical autonomy of the parts comprising the system invokes the subtypes of national, pseudo-national, pseudo-local, and independent local lists. Applying this to all those who took part in the last two rounds of local elections demonstrates the Belgian municipal scene is predominated by lists having at least implicit links with a national party (even when their label is non-national). Second, this typology has been inserted to assess the nationalisation of the place-bound partisan assemblage. We have developed discrete indices of local party system nationalisation expressing the ratio between the subtypes outlined above in the electoral and the parliamentary arena. Scores pointed to relative local party system nationalisation, without reaching its alleged end-state. Nationalisation is also more prominent in the council than in the electoral offer. Third, the paper tried to explain variation in local party system nationalisation by considering the conjoined effect of place-bound social morphology and political ecology variables. Binary logistic regression shows that overall political ecology matters more (often) than social morphology (being more predictive for the parliamentary than for the electoral variant of the index). Also, further particular effects appear. First, morphological factors do not significantly increase the odds of the electoral local party system being nationalised. Second, specific morphological factors do matter for the parliamentary local party system to be nationalised. Third, the same specific ecological factors matter in the case of both electoral and parliamentary party system nationalisation. Here, the particular relevance of path dependency as the preceding degree of national party organisation comes to the fore. Ultimately, a substantial amount of variance remains unexplained. Herein lie the limits of a quantitative approach focusing on the effect of exogenous conditions on local party system nationalisation. To fully understand this, the interaction with endogenous within-party decisions should be tackled. Future research also needs to assess if, how far, and under which conditions our insights travel comparatively. ; U radu se istražuje nacionalizacija lokalne politike u belgijskom kontekstu. Problematici se pristupa detaljnije od tradicionalne podjele stranaka na nacionalne i nenacionalne, te se izvode tri glavna zaključka. Prvo na temelju analize vertikalne autonomije stranaka možemo zaključiti da postoje četiri podtipa liste: državne, pseudodržavne, pseudolokalne i nezavisne lokalne liste. Podjela sudionika posljednjih dvaju krugova belgijskih lokalnih izbora na navedena četiri podtipa pokazuje da prevladavaju, što se belgijskih općina tiče, liste koje su makar neizravno povezane s državnom strankom (čak i kada nemaju državni predznak). Nadalje, ova se tipologija koristi kako bi se procijenila nacionalizacija lokacijski ograničenog skupa stranaka. Razvijeni su indeksi nacionalizacije lokalne politike koji pokazuju omjer između navedenih podtipova u izbornoj i u parlamentarnoj areni. Rezultati upućuju na to da je riječ o relativnoj, a ne o potpunoj nacionalizaciji lokalnog političkog sustava. Nacionalizacija je izraženija u slučaju lokalnih vijeća nego lokalnih izbora. Konačno, u radu se nastoji objasniti varijacija u nacionalizaciji lokalnog političkog sustava razmatranjem zajedničkog učinka varijabli lokacijski ograničene društvene morfologije i političke ekologije. Binarna logistička regresija pokazuje da je politička ekologija (češće) važnija od društvene morfologije (predvidljivija je u slučaju parlamentarnog indeksa nego u slučaju izbornoga). Javljaju se i drugi učinci. Morfološki faktori ne utječu znatno na vjerojatnost da će doći do nacionalizacije izbornoga lokalnog političkog sustava, no pojedini morfološki faktori ipak utječu na nacionalizaciju parlamentarnoga lokalnog političkog sustava. Nadalje, isti ekološki faktori utječu na nacionalizaciju kako izbornog tako i parlamentarnog lokalnog političkog sustava. Tu je izražena važnost dotadašnjeg razvojnog puta i prethodnih odabira (path dependance) koji utječu na nacionalizaciju lokalne politike. Ipak, varijacija u velikoj mjeri ostaje naobjašnjena, što je povezano s ograničenjima kvantitativnog pristupa usmjerenoga na učinak vanjskih utjecaja na nacionalizaciju lokalne politike. Kako bi se postiglo cjelovito razumijevanje, valja proučiti interakciju s unutarnjim stranačkim odlukama. Buduća se istraživanja također trebaju usmjeriti na komparativnu primjenu rezultata - u kojoj je mjeri i u kojim uvjetima moguća.

A series of trends have emerged across Europe which have stimulated change in local government, local democracy and local leadership particularly where local government and local leaders have had to respond to crisis, economic downturn and the pressures of public engagement in times of restraint and public service decline. The special issue of Lex Localis (14:4, 2016) explored those factors in countries as diverse as Iceland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, the Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland, to provide valuable insights into the turbulent times within which local self-government is located. That issue of Lex Localis was drawn from two related sources: the ECPR joint sessions work shop in Warsaw on local political leadership in times of austerity and from papers produced for the LocRef Cost Action democratic renewal workgroup. The paper here presents a review of, and retrospective introduction to that special issue. But by also drawing on other sources it offers an exploration of the broad trends shaping the development of local government and also develops a commentary on the factors which stimulate or hinder the success of local leadership, local government and local democracy in challenging times.

Government formation is a crucial phase after elections. This article focusses on coalition formation in Belgian local government after the elections in 2006. Coalition theories have mainly been developed at the national level, but they are also applicable to the local level where there is no shortage of coalitions. This level offers the opportunity to not only test rather classic coalition theories such as minimum size theories or the coalitions' incumbency status. In a federal state like Belgium we can compare the local coalitions with coalitions made at higher levels. The results show that the local political parties prefer to form minimal winning and minimum parties coalitions, but not the smallest coalition that is possible. Coalitions are also more likely to form when they represent the incumbent coalition. Finally, political parties prefer congruent coalitions with the federal and regional government. Adapted from the source document.

This paper focuses on the role of size in coalition formation in the Flemish region in Belgium after the local elections of 2006. A quantitative analysis already showed that size matters at the local level. In this paper, portfolio allocation is considered as an important part of coalition formation. This paper illustrates that combining research methods can enhance our knowledge about the role of size in the coalition formation process. The results demonstrate that parties consider a minimal winning and minimum parties coalition as a starting point for the negotiations and other factors influence the final coalition outcome. In portfolio allocation proportionality rules, but parties also prefer competences related to their policy profile. Intra-party and personal characteristics play an important role in selecting the executive mandates.