Commonwealth Local Government Forum

Americas \ Local democracy

This section contains information relating to all aspects of lcoal democracy and good governance at the local level. The Commonwealth principles on good practice for local democracy and good governance - known as the Aberdeen Agenda - which have been adopted by all CLGF members and are incorporated in the Commonwealth Charter, set the framework for the promotion of local democracy in the Commonwealth. The materials in this section relate to the constitutional and legal provisions for local government and include a range of studies, policy and training materials on local elections, leadership, community participation, representative local government, local government management and partnerships between local government and other key stakeholders such as traditional authorities.

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All Politics is Local: A comparative analysis of local government in Canada, the UK and Ireland

By exploring the legislative and structural elements that shape municipal (local) level government in Canada and local government in Ireland and the UK, this paper will seek to provide an analysis of the most accessible layer of government in each country. It starts with a brief introduction and overview of the Canadian political system. It will then assess the relationship that the municipal government has with its provincial levels counterparts as well as comparing it with the local-central level relationship that exists in Ireland and the more comparable system of multi-layered interaction in the UK. Finally, the paper concludes with a comment section outlining what lessons can be learned and applied as a result of this comparative analysis, as well as identifying the challenges that local government faces more broadly in an ever globalizing political climate.

Author: Patrick Bourke Publisher: LGiU Publication year: 2017


Democratization (2nd Edition) A Critical Introduction

The second edition of this popular and authoritative text provides a truly global assessment of democratization in theory and practice in the contemporary world. It has been systematically revised and updated throughout to cover recent developments, from the impact of 9/11 and EU enlargement to the war in Iraq.

Author: Jean Grugel, Matthew Louis Bishop Publisher: Macmillan Publication year: 2013


Yes to Local Government, No to Participatory Democracy: The Local Governance Reform Dilemma in Trinidad, St. Lucia and St. Vincent

In the Commonwealth Caribbean countries of St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago, local government reform has been and continues to remain on the agenda. The proposals are all based on the philosophy that there should be elected local government, which in turn should facilitate substantive levels of participatory democracy and citizen involvement. But whilst there is general acceptance of this philosophy, central governments are seemingly reluctant to implement any reforms which would return power to the people. Citizen involvement and participatory democracy has thus become the bug-bear in the process, and has led to the stalling of local government reform in all three countries. With reforms having stalled, one wonders whether the next step will be the dissolution of systems of local government in these states.

Author: Bishnu Ragoonath Publisher: Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance Publication year: 2009


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