Governance in Close Proximity to the People? Contemporary Local Government and Politics

A major argument in favour of independent local government is its proximity to citizens. Policy-making and service-delivery in close proximity to citizens promotes effectiveness by allowing services to be aligned with local preferences, and enables direct involvement of citizens in influencing local political decisions and in initiating community action. This section explores how traditional ideas about possible merits of local governance in close proximity to citizens are met by European local governments in the early 21st century. Several trends and developments require consideration. New information and communication technologies facilitate innovative methods for consultation and contact with citizens. Changing intergovernmental relations in the form of decentralisation reforms and increasingly horizontal patterns of interaction between tiers create new opportunities and challenges. We witness increasing internationalisation of local governance stemming from the EU, international city networks and cross-border co-operation. Decentralisation and an increasing complexity of governance challenges put higher demands on the governance capacity of local governments. Local democracy is in a process of transition due to shifts from state-centred to collaborative and community governance, concurrent with the decline of party-democracy. New approaches to public management and service delivery such as quality management, “lean” service production and autonomization/corporatization of branches of local service delivery entails changes in the relations between users and providers.