Local Elites, Political Capital and Democratic Development [electronic resource] : Governing Leaders in Seven European Countries /
Szücs, Stefan.editor.
Strömberg, Lars.editor.
This book helps to understand in which ways local governing elites are important for the success or failure of national democratic development. Although we know a great deal about the general importance of civil society and social capital for the development of sustainable democracy, we still know little about what specific local governing qualities or political capital that interact with democratic development. The collected data covers time series of surveys from between 15 to 30 political and administrative leaders in over a hundred middle-sized European and Eurasian cities. The study takes us across the 1980s and 1990s, going from cities in Sweden and the Netherlands - through the Baltic cities - to the cities of Belarus and Russia. The findings show the importance of local political capital based on commitments to core democratic values, informal governance networks, and the significance of initially connecting the community to global, non-economic relationships.
Description based upon print version of record.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [335]-346).
Introduction: Studying Local Elites and Democratic Development -- Introduction: Studying Local Elites and Democratic Development -- Western Democracies -- The Untouchables: Stability among the Swedish Local Elite -- From Despair to Complacency: The Development of the Dutch Local Elite -- The New Baltic Democracies -- Toward Democratic Governance: The Lithuanian Local Elite -- Estonian Local Elites a Decade after the Transition to Democracy -- The Development of Democracy and Local Governance in Latvia -- The Commonwealth of Independent States -- Local Governance in Belarus during the Regime of Authoritarian Democracy -- The Formation of Democracy and Local Governance in Russia -- Comparative Analysis Across Countries and Cities -- Universal Change and the Conditions for Democratic Development -- Political Capital and How it Grows -- Conclusion: Democracy Needs Local Political Capital.
This book helps to understand in which ways local governing elites are important for the success or failure of national democratic development. Although we know a great deal about the general importance of civil society and social capital for the development of sustainable democracy, we still know little about what specific local governing qualities or political capital that interact with democratic development. The collected data covers time series of surveys from between 15 to 30 political and administrative leaders in over a hundred middle-sized European and Eurasian cities. The study takes us across the 1980s and 1990s, going from cities in Sweden and the Netherlands - through the Baltic cities - to the cities of Belarus and Russia. The findings show the importance of local political capital based on commitments to core democratic values, informal governance networks, and the significance of initially connecting the community to global, non-economic relationships.
Political science.
Political Science.