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issue 5 of the Commonwealth e-journal of local governance was published on 2 March 2010. This is a special edition on the 2009 Commonwealth Local Government Conference,  held in Freeport, The Bahamas, and contains background information on the theme and outcomes and papers presented to the research colloquium that was held prior to the conference.

Topics  covered in this edition include:

• Improving local government: the Commonwealth vision 
• Confronting the urban challenge in Kampala
• Village forums or development councils: participation in rural West Bengal
• A Canadian approach to municipal consolidation in major city-regions
• The political-administrative interface in South African municipalties
  
  plus commentary and practicew notes on electoral quotas, local-level governance, municipal-aboriginal relations, addresssing human trafficking, decentralisation, and reserved seats for women.

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Issue 4 of the Commonwealth e-journal of local governance was published in November 2009.

Topics  covered in this edition include:

• Local government and traditional authorities in concert: towards a more productive relationship
• Local government level restorative adjudication: an alternative model of justice for children in Bangladesh
• Sustainable cities: Canadian reality or urban myth? 
  
  plus commentary and practice notes on MDGs, capacity building, gender mainstreaming and local government reform. 

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Issue 3 of the Commonwealth e-journal of local governance was published on 14 May 2009 at the fifth annual Commonwealth Local Government Conference held in Freeport, Bahamas.

Topics  covered in this edition include:

• Can international local government partnerships make a difference?
• From citizen participation to participatory governance
• Deeping local democracy  in South Asia 
• A Canadian approach to municipal consolidation in major city-regions 
  
   

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• Developmental Local Government in South Africa: Institutional fault lines   
• From Citizen Participation to Participatory Governance
• Representative Democracy in Australian Local Government
• Indicators of Community Cohesion in an Australian Country Town.

Themes covered in issue 1 include:   

• Concepts of local democracy and citizenship
• Strategic leadership and planning
• Traditional leadership and local government
• Improving local governance
• Decentralisation and recentralisation
• Municipal finance and capacity
• Global issues and local government: climate change, health, economic transformation, urbanisation
• Social inclusion
• Performance measurement and management
• Inter-government relations