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Decentralization and democracy in Eastern Europe: A sceptical approach

Pickvance, Chris (1997) Decentralization and democracy in Eastern Europe: A sceptical approach. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 17 . pp. 129-142. ISSN 0263-774X. (doi:10.1068/c150129) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:18242)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/c150129

Abstract

The author focuses on the link between local government decentralization and democracy in Eastern Europe. It is shown that decentralization is a multidimensional concept and that actual local government systems can be positioned differently on each dimension (functions, control, and finance) depending on the implicit model of local government. Formal and substantive definitions of democracy are distinguished and some conventional measures examined; it is concluded that decentralization and democracy do not necessarily go together. The degree of decentralization and implicit models of postsocialist local government in Eastern Europe are then outlined, with a focus on the contrast between Budapest and Moscow. The development of social movements in the two capitals is taken as an index of substantive democracy and is shown to be influenced not only by the extent of decentralization but also by other features of the local political context. This illustrates the earlier argument that the relation between decentralization and democracy is an empirically variable one rather than a necessary one.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1068/c150129
Additional information: Conference Information: Conference on Democratization and Decentralization: Four Years of Local Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe KRAKOW, POLAND, AUG, 1995 Ctr Russian, Cent & East European Studies; Foundat in Support of Local Democracy; City Council, Cracow, Poland
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: M.A. Ziai
Date Deposited: 17 Apr 2009 08:45 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:56 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/18242 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Pickvance, Chris.

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