Thirty Years of Insight into Research on Czech Local Politics - Mapping Research in a Post-Communist Country

Since the Velvet Revolution, the Czech Republic has undergone significant democratic development. A crucial part of this transformation has been the evolution of its municipal structure and local politics. Due to its fragmented municipal system, comprising 6,254 municipalities, local politics play a vital role in the Czech Republic. Being the level of governance closest to citizens, local politics often influence national policymaking. This area has drawn attention not only from political scientists but also from researchers across various disciplines. The presented study analyzes a comprehensive database of academic resources addressing Czech local politics since the establishment of the independent Czech Republic. The analyzed period spans from 1993 to 2024 and includes monographs, articles published in Czech journals, and entries in international academic databases such as Web of Science and Scopus. The article and the accompanying database were developed using content analysis, utilizing catalogs from the National Library of the Czech Republic, archives of 31 specialized Czech journals, information from research institutions, and other publicly accessible sources. The analysis highlights not only the trends in the field of Czech political science focusing on local politics over the past 30 years but also the critical role of grant funding, which has been a driving force behind the growth of publications. The thematic diversity of academic articles spans areas such as public administration, elections, socio-economic factors, and sustainability, reflecting a wide array of approaches to studying local politics. The shift from publishing in Czech to English underscores the globalization of academia and the growing demand for international visibility and impact. As a post-communist country, the Czech Republic presents a unique case for examining the evolution of local politics. The development of this field has been slower compared to Western democracies, influenced by the broader socio-political transition. The database created in this study serves as a comprehensive tool for researchers, students, and practitioners interested in Central European local politics. Based on the widely accepted definition of local politics by Balík (2009), this resource facilitates navigation through the extensive and continually expanding landscape of Czech municipal studies, offering valuable insights into a field that remains underexplored on the international stage.