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Does local government have a future?

Does local government have a future?. Linze Schaap. Does local government have a future?. Contents General situation Challenge-1: contested locality Strategies to maintain locality Challenge-2: contested local democracy S trategies to improve local democracy

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Does local government have a future?

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  1. Does local government have a future? Linze Schaap

  2. Does local government have a future? Contents • General situation • Challenge-1: contested locality • Strategies to maintain locality • Challenge-2: contested local democracy • Strategies to improve local democracy • Challenge-3: Europeanisation vs. local autonomy • Strategies to maintain local autonomy • And how about us? • Does local government have a future?

  3. Does local government have a future? 1. General situation • Europe: the realm of differences • State traditions • Structures • Appreciation of local government • Functions and importance of local government • Nevertheless: common challenges

  4. Does local government have a future? 2. Challenge-1: contested locality • Government is based on territorial boundaries • Governance era, however: • networks and functional relationships • problem-oriented • Issues transgress territorial boundaries • Democracy is also based on territorial boundaries • Modern citizens: acting where, how and when they want • Representation gap: representing people where they live (sleep), not where their interests are

  5. Does local government have a future? 3. Strategies to maintain locality • Amalgamations • Improved service-delivery • Weakened local democracy • Representation gap unsolved • Inter-governmental co-operations • Problem-oriented • Fitting the governance era • Democratic gap too (unless …)

  6. Does local government have a future? 4. Challenge-2: contested democracy • General dissatisfaction with local politics • Lower voter turnouts • Less trust • Involvement of stakeholders: challenge to councillors • Governance = negotiations outside Council • Less attachment to locality, loss of identity • Global village, multiple identities • Increasing social fragmentation • Many organisations, overlapping ‘communities’

  7. Does local government have a future? 5. Strategies to improve local democracy • Strengthen the existing model of representation: • Broaden the concept of representation • Improving ‘customer democracy’ • Adding direct and participative democracy • Associative democracy, coproduction with third sector • E-democracy • Democratic leadership

  8. Does local government have a future? 6. Challenge-3: Europeanisation vs. local autonomy • European policies heavily influence local policy-making • National governments negotiate • Local/regional authorities mainly lobby in the national capital • Local autonomy: blind spot in EU eyes • Despite recognition Charter for Local Self-Governance

  9. Does local government have a future? 7. Strategies to maintain local autonomy • Intergovernmental preparation of EU negotiations • International co-operation between local/regional authorities • Rethinking 'local autonomy': local discretion instead?

  10. Does local government have a future? 8. And how about us? Where should research be heading? • Conceptual and empirical studies into local and regional democracy: ‘multi-level democracy’ • Conceptual and empirical studies into local/regional public-private co-operations (government and civil society): reinventing self-government / self-government beyond representative democracy (or: party politics?) • International comparative studies!

  11. Does local government have a future? 9. Does local government have a future? -A (Or the world according to Linze Schaap) • No, as ‘government’ • is too much based on traditional territories • does not recognise multiple identities in modern societies • May be • if local authorities become partners in governance co-operations • if we get rid of dogma’s

  12. Does local government have a future? 9. Does local government have a future? –B • Hopefully, if we succeed in re-inventing local democracy: • representative democracy needs maintenance • we need ideas derived from additional democracy models (direct, associative, and participative democracy) • mutual learning seems to become necessary • no fear for direct citizens’ involvement • Certainly yes! • if we know how to empower local self-organising capacities again • If we convince the EU of importance local discretion.

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