Central Government Reform and Leadership

2010 ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Talbot
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Government Reform

scholarly journals Reforming local government: Must it always be democracy versus efficiency?

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aodh Quinlivan
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Staffing Levels ◽  
Subnational Government ◽  
Government Sector ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Input Legitimacy

Abstract The financial crisis from 2008 has had a profound impact on Irish local government. Councils were faced with a disastrous combination of factors - declining funding from central government, difficulties in collecting commercial rates as businesses struggled, and a drastic fall in revenue from development levies. Staffing levels in the local government sector were reduced by over 20 per cent, significantly more than the losses suffered by central government ministries and departments. Yet the financial crisis also offered an opportunity for reform and a fundamental reappraisal of subnational government in Ireland. A reform strategy produced in 2012 paved the way for the Local Government Reform Act, 2014. As a result of this legislation, the number of local authorities was reduced from 114 to 31 with the complete abolition of all town councils. The number of council seats also fell from 1,627 to 949. Using Scharpf’s dimensions of democratic legitimacy, this article assesses whether the focus of the 2014 reforms was on output legitimacy (efficiency and effectiveness) as opposed to input legitimacy (citizen integration and participation).

scholarly journals Decentralization in self-government bodies

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-70
Author(s):  
Kateryna Malyuk
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Central Government ◽  
The State ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
Country Formation ◽  
Voluntary Basis

The article analyzes the theoretical and practical aspects of decentralization as a foundation for the formation of local governments in Ukraine. The importance of introducing the reform of decentralization of power on the path of development of Ukraine as a democratic, social, legal state is proved. The activity of local self-government in the conditions of decentralization is currently a priority among the reforms in Ukraine, as new trends in state building of our country, formation of civil society institutions, optimization of the system of local self-government determine new conditions for decentralization. Traditionally, a constant view of decentralization as a process in which independent units that form the bearers of local self-government are formed in a centralized state requires the development of new approaches to the analysis of its content and, accordingly, the search for new opportunities to achieve the goal. The role of decentralization in the formation of the institution of local self-government is crucial. After all, decentralization is a kind of management system, in which part of the functions of central government is transferred to local governments. Decentralization is one of the forms of democracy development, which at the same time preserves the unity of the state and its institutions while expanding the possibilities of local self-government. It aims to activate the population to meet their own needs, to narrow the sphere of state influence on society, to reduce expenditures on the maintenance of the state apparatus. This process promotes direct democracy, as it involves the transfer of control of a number of local affairs directly into the hands of stakeholders. Thus, we can say that decentralization helps to build the civil society we so strive for. As a result of local government reform and decentralization of power, the basis of the new system of local self-government should be united territorial communities, which are formed on a voluntary basis in accordance with the statutory procedure with their own self-government bodies, including executive bodies. The reform should help improve the lives of Ukrainian citizens, as well as build a legal, modern, efficient and, most importantly, competitive European state.

Local Government Reform in Jamaica

2017 ◽  
pp. 520-542
Author(s):  
Keith L. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Reform Program ◽  
Formal Institution ◽  
Tier System ◽  
Current Reform ◽  
Subnational Governance

Local government as a formal institution has existed in Jamaica since 1667. It has traditionally been perceived as the lower of a two-tier system of government in which it has essentially operated as an instrument of central government. The second of two major reforms to the local government system was initiated in 1990 and officially launched in 1995. The current reform program constitutes a new paradigm of subnational governance and development, in which local government is no longer primarily a creature of central government, but rather a vehicle for the management of local affairs, including the pursuit of local developmental priorities, with strong participation by local citizens and stakeholders. Such a paradigm is claimed to be critical to addressing governance and developmental challenges that currently confront Jamaica. This study examines the validity of this claim and whether this new paradigm is likely to enhance subnational governance and development.

Postwar Development of Hokkaido

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-155
Author(s):  
Juha Saunavaara
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Administrative System ◽  
Development System ◽  
Development Agency ◽  
Ideal Situation ◽  
Supreme Commander

The near revolutionary reforms that U.S. occupiers enforced in Japan between 1945 and 1952 altered the characteristics of the Hokkaido development system, but did not make it correspond to the administrative system in the rest of Japan. Although the establishment of the postwar Hokkaido development system was a subplot of the nationwide local government reform from the perspective of the U.S. occupation authorities, this process can be explained only when one understands the changes to the general occupation policy and the actions of the occupiers. While the Hokkaido electorate chose a socialist governor, by the end of U.S. occupation, the decision-making power drifted toward Japan’s conservative central government. While the occupation authorities originally prohibited creation of the Hokkaido Development Agency in 1947, they lifted that ban three years later and even reluctantly approved the establishment of the Hokkaido Development Bureau in 1951, although General Headquarters/Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (ghq/scap) discouraged such a move throughout the occupation. This article argues that the outcome was a compromise that failed to match anyone’s concept of an ideal situation.

scholarly journals The possibility of a New Type of Special Municipality: A Review of Local Government Reform Policy in Taiwan as a model for other global cities

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Wang Pao-Chien ◽  
Yeh Hui-Chi
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Home Rule ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
New Type

This article examines local government reform in Taiwan. It highlights the challenges that new municipalities face in responding to rural – urban population, balancing centralism and localism, and protecting cultural diversity and minority rights. By applying Dillion’s rule and Home rule theories, it classifies two types of special municipalities, identifying their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. The article is presented in three parts. The first part examines the structure of local government, then explains how local governments are established and their relationship with central government. The second part focuses on government reform, by highlighting the issues and concerns facing local and central governments, and their respective reforms. The third part classifies two types of special municipality governments, by examining how each type balances efficiency and democracy, and the needs of central government versus the local community. The article concludes with a discussion of future challenges facing local government and special municipalities.

‘You can't play politics with people's jobs and people's services’: Localism and the politics of local government finance

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 635-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Wilks-Heeg
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Government Finance ◽  
The Government ◽  
Party Support ◽  
Opinion Polls

Despite growing cross-party support for the principles of localism, the coalition's radical devolution agenda looks set to provoke a level of tension in central–local relations not seen since the 1980s. This article argues that the central cause of this friction, the front-loading of cuts in the local government financial settlement for 2011–2013, must be understood as the centrepiece of theConservatives’ agenda for local government reform. It is argued that, as with the introduction of the poll tax after 1987, the Conservatives have adopted a high-risk political strategy that will require the government to persuade voters that cuts in services arise from the failings of local councils. Evidence from opinion polls in the first half of 2011 suggests that the public is yet to be convinced that the blame lies with local government, but that they remain open to persuasion. However, a regionalized analysis of projected public sector job loss and voting patterns at the 2011 English local elections suggests that voters look set to blame central government in the areas where the cuts will hit hardest. If future local elections repeat this pattern, the limitations of the political strategy behind the localism agenda will become highly apparent.

scholarly journals The “Memoirs” of Count Münnich

Slavic Review ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 843-852
Author(s):  
David L. Ransel
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Political Design ◽  
Russian Publication

Since the first Russian publication of Count B. C. Münnich’s “Memoirs” in 1842 historians have employed them as a useful primary source on eighteenthcentury history. However, the Russian title, Zapiski, is misleading. Münnich was not writing his personal memoirs or even a state memorandum: instead he was offering a proposal for central government reform with an accompanying historical justification. Scholars have occasionally remarked on this aspect of the document. But it has gone unrecognized that Münnich’s writing also bore a strongly partisan political imprint. The political design only becomes clear in the context of the prolonged battle for position and influence waged between two powerful court parties in the first years of Catherine II’s reign. At a crucial stage in this struggle Münnich used his proposal in an apparent attempt to break the deadlock and facilitate Nikita Panin’s rise to power in late 1763.

County Government Reform in Urbanizing China

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-371
Author(s):  
Qingshan Tan
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
County Government ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
County Governments ◽  
Goods And Services

Many rising issues, such as urbanization, migration, social equality, housing, provision of public goods and services, are presenting the greatest challenge to county governments. In order to effectively tackle those social issues, the central government has delegated greater power and responsibility to local governments, particularly county governments. This paper seeks to address the following question: Does empowering county government improve local governance in rapidly urbanizing China? By answering the question, this study evaluates the effects of decentralization of the central policy regarding urbanization and governance at the county level, and addresses the issue of how empowering county government could improve local governance in rapidly urbanizing China. Keywords: • local politics • self-government • county reform • urbanization

scholarly journals Tendenser i stat-kommuneforholdet efter kommunalreformen – fokus på økonomiaftaler og sanktionssystemet

Politik ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Jørgen Mau Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Fiscal Rules ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Economic Significance ◽  
Local Budget ◽  
Cooperation System ◽  
Decentralized Model ◽  
Macroeconomic Management

This article aims at presenting trends in the state-local budget-cooperation system in Denmark, following the local government reform in 2007 and the fiscal rules in the budget law from 2012. The article investigates some of the characteristics of the development from 1980 until 2016. Evidence gives support to the hypothesis that the possibility for the municipalities’ organization to negotiate increasing expenditures has been narrowed, however accompanied by more liberal grant financing. The local government reform seems to have opened a window of opportunity for an elaborated system of collective and especially individual central government sanctions to strengthen the macroeconomic management of service expenditures of local governments. The identified trends in the Danish state-local relations may indicate that the decentralized model of local governments in Denmark is increasingly under pressure. However, the Danish municipal sector is still growing with respect to economic significance.  

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