New Challenges in Local and Regional Administration

Focusing on democratization, flexibilization, ethnic diversity and restructuring of transitional and emerging states, this volume analyzes the changes and challenges for administrative structures at the beginning of the 21st century, from a geographical perspective. A team of leading scholars from throughout the world provides a differentiated spatial overview of key problems currently faced in public administration. By offering a wide range of regional case studies from Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the book tests current theories and concepts of government and governance, space and place, and society and community. In doing so, it offers valuable insights and makes policy implications.

Contents: Part I: Democratization: Local and national democracy: lessons from the 'third wave' of democratization, Brian Smith; Territorial reform of central-regional-local government relations: the implications for local economic development agencies in England, Robert J. Bennett; Municipal boundary change procedures: local democracy versus central control, Eran Razin and Greg Lindsey. Part II: Flexibilization: Multipurpose government and flexibility: an appraisal, Petr Dostál; Public-private partnerships and urban governance: towards a new concept of local government?, Carlos Nuñes Silva; Switzerland and the challenge of European integration, Wolf Linder; Flexibility in local public administration: responses to size and ethnic structure of communes in Slovakia, Ján Bucek. Part III: Restructuring in Transitional and Emerging States: Administrative territorial reform in Latvia: reasons, goals and strategy, Raita Karnite; Hometown associations and flexible governance in Nigeria, Rex Honey; Democratic institution building in the context of a liberation war: the example of Western Sahara and Polisario Front, Elisabeth Bäschlin; Challenges for restructuring of local government in a transition period: Palestine, Rassem Khamaisi; Index.

Max Barlow, Doris Wastl-Walter