The Meaning Ascribed to the Aging Phenomena by Mayors in Israel
- PDF / 343,155 Bytes
- 16 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 35 Downloads / 143 Views
The Meaning Ascribed to the Aging Phenomena by Mayors in Israel Dafna Vardimon 1 & Israel (Issi) Doron 2 Received: 5 March 2020 / Accepted: 8 September 2020/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract In Israel, as in many other countries, local government is the arena in which national policies are carried out and through which direct social services are provided to the older population. However, issues around local ageing policies have yet to be studied in terms of understanding the role of the heads of these local communities. This study describes and analyses how mayors and heads of local municipalities perceive the consequences of ageing and its effect on their communities, and how it influences the specific social policies they have adopted as part of their responsibility for addressing this phenomenon. A qualitative, phenomenological methodology was used. Sixteen mayors and heads of municipalities from across Israel were interviewed using a semistructured interview guide. All interviews were transcribed and then thematically analysed. Three main themes were identified: the complicated tension with the central government; personal attitudes and beliefs towards ageing; and the policies and initiatives actually adopted by the mayors in the field of ageing. Overall, this study emphasises the significance of the subjective construction of local versus central government power relationships by mayors and heads of localities. It supports the “strong mayor” approach within the local political-gerontology literature, hence pointing to the potential importance of political activism by older persons at this governmental level. Keywords Municipalism . Glocalism . Local government . Politics . Mayors
* Israel (Issi) Doron [email protected] Dafna Vardimon [email protected]
1
Department of Gerontology, University of Haifa, 31905 Haifa, Israel
2
CRSA - Center for Research & Study of Aging, Department of Gerontology, University of Haifa, 31905 Haifa, Israel
D. Vardimon, I. (. I.). Doron
Introduction Similar to other Western countries, Israeli society is ageing (Dwolatzky et al. 2017), with dramatic implications for both the central and local governments. Local government, including all its branches, is the closest level of government to senior citizens and plays an important role in their rights and quality of life (Doron 2006; Donovan et al. 2009). In Israel, as in many other countries, local government is the executive arena in which national policies are conducted and through which direct social services are provided to the older population (Lagergren 2002; Lehning 2014). The literature indicates that there is both academic and political awareness of the significance (or insignificance) of personal attitudes of mayors and heads of municipalities in shaping local social policies (Gerber and Hopkins 2011). However, issues around local ageing policies have yet to be studied in terms of understanding the role of the heads of local government versus central government, or in the context of gaining a better understandi
Data Loading...
