The Oxford Handbook of Local and Regional Democracy in Europe
analyses the state of play of democracy at the subnational level in
the 27 member states of the EU plus Norway and Switzerland. It
places subnational democracy in the context of the distinctive
Anglo, the French, the German and Scandinavian state traditions in
Europe asking to what extent these are still relevant today. The
Handbook adapts Lijphart's theory of democracy and applies it to
the subnational levels in all the country chapters. A key
theoretical issue is whether subnational (regional and local)
democracy is derived from national democracy or whether it is
legitimate in its own right. Besides these theoretical concerns it
focuses on the practice of democracy: the roles of political
parties and interest groups and also how subnational political
institutions relate to the ordinary citizen. This can take the form
of local referendums or other mechanisms of participation. The
Handbook reveals a wide variety of practices across Europe in this
regard. Local financial systems also reveal a great variety.
Finally, each chapter examines the challenges facing subnational
democracy but also the opportunities available to them to enhance
their democratic systems. Among the challenges identified are:
Europeanization, globalization, but also citizens disaffection and
switch-off from politics. Some countries have confronted these
challenges more successfully than others but all countries face
them. An important aspect of the Handbook is the inclusion of all
the countries of East and Central Europe plus Cyprus and Malta, who
joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. This is the first time they have
been examined alongside the countries of Western Europe from the
angle of subnational democracy.
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