International Handbook of Local and Regional Government: A Comparative Analysis of Advanced Democracies

This major new reference work is an authoritative, detailed guide to subnational systems of government in advanced democracies. The Handbook offers a comparative analysis of local and regional government in a wide range of countries, discussing their histories, traditions, national and internal institutional structures, financing, competences and functions. Inter-governmental relationships, electoral systems and public participation in local administration and the governance of metropolitan areas, are also reviewed extensively. The book draws upon a wide range of official and academic sources in several languages, published and unpublished, many of which are not otherwise available in English. The first part surveys principal aspects of the subject through a cross-national comparison of Western Europe, English and French-speaking North America, Japan and Australasia. Later chapters examine individually the cases of France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, the USA, Canada and Japan. In order to facilitate comparison within a global perspective the contents of each of these chapters are organised under the same headings as those in the first part. Offering an unparalleled history of western systems of local democracy and the concepts and values that sustain them, the Handbook will be an aid to constructive thinking for politicians and administrators, as well as a comprehensive reference source for teachers, students and researchers.