Local governance in Western Europe

Book abstract:

This book is an introduction to local government and urban politics in contemporary Western Europe. The book aims to map the transition from local government to local governance and provide comparisons between Western European states. The book maintains that institutionalised forms of local politics have given way to more flexible and networked patterns of public decision making since the 1980s.

The book is divided into 9 chapters. Following an introduction, chapter 2 provides a comparative study of local government systems in Western Europe. Chapter 3 examines local regimes highlighting the importance of the private sector in the governance of localities and the emergence of coalitions to solve public problems. Chapter 4 assesses the importance of the EU to the governance of the locality. Chapter 6 examines the trend of privatising public services and creating new structures of organisations. Chapter 7 examines the response of political leaderships and local executives to their changing roles, whilst chapter 8 examines the implications of governance for local democracy and whether democratic experiments will be taken up in other countries. Finally, chapter 9 provides a conclusion on the changes as a whole.

The book would be suited to students and academics alike. Peter John is Professor in the School of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck College, University of London.