The Second Tier of Local Government in Europe

Provinces, Counties, Départements and Landkreise in Comparison

Hubert Heinelt editor Xavier Bertrana editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:30th May '14

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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The Second Tier of Local Government in Europe cover

This book takes a comparative approach to local government across 14 European countries, looking at processes of decentralisation, regionalisation and reforms of local government.

Examining second levels of government, such as UK Counties, French Départements, Italian and Spanish Provinces, and German Landkreise, this book reveals both the specific characteristics of particular countries, and also similarities across Europe. As the first book focussing on the second level of local governments, this monograph combines comparative analysis of institutional trends and reforms of local government with examination of country-specific features to provide an original and insightful evaluation of European governance. Organised along common thematic lines, leading experts in their field outline the historical development of local government, and analyse recent or current reform debates. The book argues democratic quality and effectiveness of this territorial level of government is in the focus of on-going debates about the rescaling of statehood and a shift from ‘government to governance’.

The Second Tier of Local Government in Europe will be of interest to students and scholars studying local government, public administration and multi-level governance.

'A readable and informative book, particularly useful for those interested in decentralisation multi-level governance and local government reform issues. This book's originalities lie in the comparability it allows and in the comprehensive information it provides about one intermediate tier of government that - despite its relevance - has been discussed less. The book is geared both for political actors directly involved in similar debates as well as scholars.' - Filipe Teles, University of Aveiro, 2013

ISBN: 9781138802421

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 498g

368 pages