This book examines federalism and regional and local politics in Russia. Many commentators have alluded to the unique nature of Russia's dual transition and its difficult task of simultaneously reforming its economy and polity. But there is in fact a third transition under way in Russia that is of no less importance, the need to reconfigure central-local relations and to create a stable and viable form of federalism. Federal states are much more difficult to set up than unitary ones, and forging a new federal system at the same time as privatising the economy and trying to radically overhaul the political system has clearly made Russia's transition triply difficult. The book discusses how Vladimir Putin has re-asserted the power of the centre in Russia, and tightened the federal government's control of the regions. It shows how, contrary to his rhetoric about developing Russia as a free and democratic state, authoritarianism has been extended - through his reorganisation of the Federation Council, his usurpation of powers to dismiss regional assemblies and chief executives, and his creation of seven unelected super-governors. The book explores a wide range of issues related to these developments, including a comparative study of Russian federalism and local politics, ethnic federalism, the merging of federal units, regional governors, electoral and party reforms, and regional and local politics. It also includes case studies of local and regional politics in specific regions.

This book examines federalism and regional and local politics in Russia. Many commentators have alluded to the unique nature of Russia's dual transition and its difficult task of simultaneously reforming its economy and polity. But there is in fact a third transition under way in Russia that is of no less importance, the need to reconfigure central-local relations and to create a stable and viable form of federalism. Federal states are much more difficult to set up than unitary ones, and forging a new federal system at the same time as privatising the economy and trying to radically overhaul the political system has clearly made Russia's transition triply difficult. The book discusses how Vladimir Putin has re-asserted the power of the centre in Russia, and tightened the federal government's control of the regions. It shows how, contrary to his rhetoric about developing Russia as a free and democratic state, authoritarianism has been extended - through his reorganisation of the Federation Council, his usurpation of powers to dismiss regional assemblies and chief executives, and his creation of seven unelected super-governors. The book explores a wide range of issues related to these developments, including a comparative study of Russian federalism and local politics, ethnic federalism, the merging of federal units, regional governors, electoral and party reforms, and regional and local politics. It also includes case studies of local and regional politics in specific regions.

Advocates of democratization in Central and Eastern Europe before 1989 placed great emphasis on community self-government as the basis of civil society and democracy. After the 'Velvet Revolutions' of 1989 and the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, the new states created an elected local government, whereby cities, towns and villages elected their own representatives and started running local services. This unleashed the development potential of urban communities across the region, but also led to the emergence of a different logic based on resource efficiency and service effectiveness. Local Government in Central and Eastern Europe examines these changes through the use of case studies which compare and contrast neighbouring countries, such as the Baltic States, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine, placing what is happening in an international perspective. There are various common themes such as: how to deal with the small scale of many municipalities, how to finance local services, centre-local relations, and the roles of cities and districts. This book was previously published as a special issue of Local Government Studies and will be of interest to students of Eastern European politics, governance, and policy analysis.

First Published in 1992. This volume, based on a special issue of the journal Local Government Studies, takes up a leading issue of the structure and role of the political executive in the context of the inaugurated British Government (1987-92). It does so by reference to examples from Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Italy as the countries selected for this volume all, to some degree, share with Britain a more collective style of political leadership. This is indispensable reading for all those wishing to gain a more balanced understanding of the contemporary role of Parliaments in Western Europe.