Comparing local governance. Trends and developments
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Book Review Comparing Local Governance. Trends and Developments Bas Denters and Lawrence E. Rose (eds.) Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, 2005, xiv þ 293pp. ISBN: 0333995562, 18.99d. Acta Politica (2008) 43, 121–123. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ap.5500211
The book of B. Denters and L.E. Rose originates in the tradition of crossnational analyses at the sub-national and especially the local level by scholars in public administration and political science. The authors want to illuminate whether or not local government across a broader spectrum of political systems has gone through a process of fundamental transformation during the past years. To answer this question the editors followed a strategy that draws upon a number of country experts. Each national expert contributed a chapter around a set of previously formulated research questions. Previous versions of the country studies appeared in Dutch as journal articles in Bestuurswetenschappen in 2002 and 2003. The book consists of 15 chapters. In the introductory chapter, Denters and Rose argue that during the last decades the nature of democratic local government has changed considerably. They identify five major trends (and associated challenges and changes) all of which have had an impact in this regard. These trends are urbanization, globalization, Europeanization, the rise of new substantive demands and the rise of new participatory demands. Chapters 2–13 contain country reports by the various country experts. The cases include Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Nordic Countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. This mix of countries provides, according to the authors, a broad basis for observing and assessing important trends and developments relating to local government and local governance at the beginning of the new millennium. Chapters 14 and 15 aim to provide a broader cross-national comparison relating to two central issues. In Chapter 14, Goldsmith provides an overview of changes in intergovernmental relations — both horizontal (between different local governments) and vertical (between various layers of government) — focusing on the impact of urbanization, globalization, and Europeanization trends, as identified in the introduction. Chapter 15 provides a similar overview of the evidence pertaining to the challenges posed, and
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changes caused, by the rise of new substantive and participatory demands. This chapter offers a cross-national analysis of patterns of change in the relations between the various public and private agents that are engaged in efforts to deal effectively with the challenges arising within local communities. The challenges are, according to Denters and Rose, of a dual character. On the one hand, substantive demands require improved local problem-solving capacity and more effective forms of community leadership. On the other hand, there are calls for democratic reforms that
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