Policy making/implementing activities of elected county executives and appointed county administrators: Does form of government make a difference?

This article undertakes a comparative analysis of the policy making/implementing behavior of elected county executives and appointed county administrators. While both sets of actors are engaged considerably in the policy making and implementing processes, the manner in which they undertake these activities varies, suggesting that form of government and method of (s)election do make a difference in how counties are governed.     

Thinking about the ‘Local’ of Local Government: a Brief History of Invention and Reinvention

In 2004, Local Government Studies published an article in which I reflected on the implications of new Labour’s modernisation agenda for the remaking of local government and the reshaping of the welfare state. Here I return to some of the issues raised in that paper in the different context of localism, austerity and dreams of urban entrepreneurialism. I argue that exploring the changing meanings of the local, as a contested political as well as geographical category, is a fundamental task for those of us seeking to understand the nature of contemporary local government; the wider processes of state restructuring which frame it; and the possibilities of local politics.     

‘Faulty’ fiscal illusion: examining the relationship between revenue diversification and tax burden in major US cities across the economic cycle

We investigate how revenue diversification affects tax burden in major U.S cities as it interacts with fiscal balance reported in the general fund over the economic cycle. We find that more diversified cities have higher tax burdens, and that this effect is strengthened when cities maintain a large surplus in the general fund. We also test models of revenue diversification's impact on tax burden using data from 1995 to 2010, separated into good fiscal years (1995-2001, 2004-2007, 2010) and bad fiscal years (2002-2003, 2008-2009). Model estimates show that greater revenue diversification leads to higher tax burden in bad fiscal years but this outcome is not found in good fiscal years. Cities seek greater revenue diversification when they are experiencing economic recessions. This study contains important implications for local financial management and contributes to the literature on revenue diversification and tax burden.     

Gender and the experiences of local elected members – a focus on Wales

This article explores issue of gender in relation to the experiences of local elected members. Member experiences are important as this may be one of the factors which lie behind the under-representation of women in political life at all levels. This article is focused on Wales where women make up 26% of local councillors, hold only 20% of cabinet positions and occupy one Leader position. This article reports on the views of male and female councillors from a number of Welsh authorities who, when interviewed, identified very different experiences of elected office. Central to their experiences are their routes into office, personal circumstances and societal influences. The existence of a dominant male political culture is evident and this may have an impact on the participation of women in local political life.     

Local Governance ‘in Swedish’? Globalisation,Local Welfare Government and Beyond

In this article local governance in the Swedish context is discussed. A case study of a Swedish city is framed in its historical, national and international context. By locating the redevelopment of an old harbour within a historical context, new insights are brought into the understanding of local governance. Cities are indeed nested. Deteriorating public finances, the deregulation of the economy (nationally and globally), the changed status of the welfare state, the restructuring of industry and the neo-liberal wave all taken together form a formidable challenge. A radical questioning of the values, principles and forms of the Swedish welfare state has tangible impacts on local governance. It is concluded that Swedish municipal actors face the dual challenge of acting efficiently (being sensitive to the needs and demands of local elites), while keeping democratic legitimacy (being sensitive to the needs and demands of all citizens).     

Local government’s disaster management capacity and disaster resilience

ABSTRACT

The questions in this research are as follows: How does the disaster management capacity of local governments affect the disaster resilience of local communities? The research distinguished local communities by type according to their level of exposure to natural disaster hazards and the analysis compared the impact of the disaster management capabilities on disaster resilience by the type of natural disaster exposure. The analysis results are as follows: While the frequency of disasters local communities experience is low, the magnitude of disasters experienced is large; external network and manual had a positive effect on disaster resilience. When disaster frequency experienced by local communities is high, the magnitude of disasters experienced is small, and internal network and public relation contribute to increased disaster resilience. In conclusion, this research will help expand the externalities of disaster management discussed in the fields of public administration and policy.     

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan as Post-Soviet Rentier States: Resource Incomes and Autocracy as a Double ‘Curse’in Post-Soviet Regimes

This article presents an analysis of two post-Soviet states, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, which can be identified as post-Soviet rentier states. Both countries are characterised economically by enormous national resources of gas and oil and low economic diversification as well as politically by strong autocratic presidentialism with neopatrimonial structures. These two factors, combined with further post-Soviet legacies such as a low level of political interest in the respective societies and a basically hierarchical orientation of the population, lead to a specific post-Soviet variety of rentierism. From a political science perspective, this article reveals the impact of resource policies on these comparably new political systems and concludes with a summary of core features of these post-Soviet rentier states.     

Framing Gov2.0: A Q-Methodological Study of Practitioners’ and Local Politicians’ Opinions

Abstract

Proponents of Gov2.0 claim that it offers the potential to improve the relationship between the citizen and state. Whether this potential can be realised depends in part on how new web-based technologies are implemented. Local government officials and politicians are important actors in this process, yet we know little about how they view Gov2.0. This paper applies Q-methodology to a sample of English local government actors to generate new data and fill this gap in our knowledge. Four frames of reference within this population are revealed: Sunlight on Government, Cautious Crowdsourcers, Gov1.0 and Platform Providers. The paper concludes that while there is general agreement that technology will be a driver of change, and that local government should adapt, there is no clear agreement as to the nature of reform.     

Independent Mayors and Local Lists in Large Polish Cities: Towards a Non-partisan Model of Local Government?

The enormous success of local independent lists and independent mayors in Poland suggests it is important to examine their distinctive features, analyse the place they occupy in local politics, and explore the model of local government they encourage. This paper deals with these topics by investigating some extreme cases of non-partisanship at the local level. Research was conducted in three arbitrarily chosen Polish cities governed by independent mayors and dominated by independent lists in the local legislatures. Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were used: a survey among city councillors; and individual key-informant interviews (IDI). Non-partisans appear to be a separate category of local politicians, different in terms of their views on politics. They explain their non-partisanship using anti-partisan, historical or tactical justifications. It seems that non-partisanship can be a means of institutionalising a particular manner of understanding and engaging in politics. Local lists organised by independent mayors are informal, concentrating on the leader and performing only some of the traditional functions of parties. This paper demonstrates that, due to the vague nature of the links between local politicians and their administration, independent councillors may serve only as a ‘democratic addition’ to a local administration headed by a skilful manager.     

History as a propaganda tool in Putin’s Russia

This paper analyzes the propaganda campaign orchestrated by the Russian authorities with the aim of promoting a version of the country’s history for political purposes. This version puts the accent on the exceptionality of Russian historical development, and is geared to endowing the figure of Vladimir Putin – seen as the person who has succeeded in carrying out a number of national projects that have been frequently abandoned throughout Russian history. The analysis presented here centres on two channels used in the campaign: school textbooks and the film industry.     

The ‘tenure guidelines’ as a tool for democratising land and resource control in Latin America

Abstract

The current configuration of global land politics – who gets what land, how, how much, why and with what implications in urban and rural spaces in the Global South and North – brings disparate social groups, governments and social movements with different sectoral and class interests into the issue of natural resource politics. Governance instruments must be able to capture the ‘political moment’ marked by the increasing intersection of issues and state and social forces that mobilise around these. This paper looks at whether and how the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (also known as the TGs) passed in 2012 in the United Nations Committee for Food Security (CFS) can contribute to democratising resource politics today. This work puts forward some initial ideas about how systematic research into the TGs can be done more meaningfully.     

China’s international socialization of Caribbean state-society complexes: Trinidad and Tobago as a case study

ABSTRACT

Using the case study of Trinidad and Tobago, this article analyzes the process of reciprocal international socialization that allows Beijing to construct a cognitive and normative space conducive to a new regional order in the Caribbean which should be politically friendly, economically profitable, and socially open to its government, companies, and citizens. We argue that there has been a shift in the identity of Trinidad’s state-society complex due to the influence of China’s very visible political, economic, and social conditionalities. Their impact on political elites (which is reflected in government discourse and actions) and on the society at large (as shown by interviews with 30 Trinidadian nationals) is analyzed in order to show that Type I, ‘role playing’ socialization has been reached. However, frustration within Trinidad’s society with the domestic effects of China’s economic and social conditionalities clearly limits the potential for the evolution toward the more advanced Type II socialization exemplified, in the same region, by the Soviet-Cuban relationship. This suggests that, at least in the near future, key features of the Chinese approach incompatible with its self-proclaimed win-win nature will prevent Beijing from upgrading its status to that of a decisive socializer in the Caribbean.     

Managing revenue collection outsourcing in Tanzania’s local government authorities: a case study of Iringa Municipal Council

Due to their critical role in development and governance, local governments need adequate financial resources to deliver the many developmental functions. However, such financial resources are either not available or inadequate. One way of rising to this challenge has been scaling up revenue collection from local revenue sources. This is done through either in-house collection or outsourcing revenue collection. Extant research has focused on the benefits and challenges of outsourcing. This paper expands this body of knowledge by studying how local governments manage private collectors to maximise benefits of outsourcing. From interviews conducted with Iringa Municipality officials and staff, the paper shows that revenue collection outsourcing can be an effective tax administration strategy if properly managed.     

Local Navigations in a Global Industry: The Gendered Nature of Entrepreneurship in Ghana’s Oil and Gas Service Sector

Oil and gas discoveries spurred expectations of economic growth and employment in Ghana. The demand for labour is however limited within offshore petroleum extraction. Employment generation therefore depends on the development of an onshore oil and gas service sector. This study examines the strategies adopted by local entrepreneurs in the ‘oil city’ of Takoradi, focusing on the gendered nature of their activities, skills, networks and capital sources. I argue that the petroleum industry’s male dominance and international standards requirements, coupled with gender constraints regarding work and access to relevant resources, limit female entrepreneurs’ creation of employment in this emerging sector.     

What’s in a Name? Assessing the Performance of Local Government Classification Systems

Local government classification systems are employed in many countries for regulation, grant transfers and other public policy purposes. Given the pivotal role these classification systems play in public policy, their accuracy is a matter of some importance. Classification systems take several forms typically consisting of groupings of municipalities based on factors such as degree of urbanisation, population size and the like. However, to date none of these classification systems have been tested for homogeneity with respect to environmental constraints or validated against external data. This paper employs the classification system for New South Wales (NSW) local authorities as a representative case study to demonstrate that a wider range of external constraints should be considered for the robust classification of local councils.     

Local Government Size and Political Efficacy: Do Citizen Panels Make a Difference?

Democratic theorists typically suggest that citizens served by small local governments have high levels of political efficacy. However, it is conceivable that large governments can overcome the burden of bigness by introducing structures that involve citizens more closely in decision-making. This paper analyses whether jurisdiction size influences political efficacy in Welsh local government, and whether the presence of a citizen panel makes a difference to the size-efficacy relationship. Multi-level analyses suggest that size is negatively associated with internal and external political efficacy, but that the use of citizen panels bolsters the external efficacy of citizens served by larger local government.     

The Impact of ‘Boss’ Candidates and Local Political Machines on Elections in Ukraine

The business sector has strongly influenced Ukrainian electoral campaigns since the founding post-communist elections. This article investigates the role of influential, local business-sector candidates, whom we label ‘boss’ candidates, in illicit campaign activities, using unique biographical, electoral, and crowd-sourced data from the 2012 parliamentary elections. The analysis shows that higher levels of competition among candidates with ‘boss’ characteristics are associated with elevated reports of voter manipulation, specifically vote buying. The findings add to extant research on election integrity in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, presenting quantitative empirical evidence that is consistent with narratives about Ukrainian electoral corruption.     

Regional Design,Local Autonomy,and Ethnic Struggle: Romania’s Syncopated Regionalisation

Despite many institutional features being changed during the post-communist transition, the regional administration in Romania witnessed a very limited change in post-communist times. Although it was a total political failure, the recent reshaping of the regional administration triggered a vivid public and scholarly interest on the matter. The purpose of the article is to shed new light on political constraints operating when it comes to reshaping regional design in Romania. Whereas official arguments pointed towards the necessity to address EU conditionality, the reshape was more likely underpinned by the government’s attempt to gain electoral advantages in the local elections scheduled for 2012. The decisive opposition made to the project by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (Uniunea Democrat? a Maghiarilor din Romania) reveals the importance that ethnic factors have played in this context.