Decentralization in East-Central Europe: operationalization, taxonomy and its impact on local political elites' outlook

Abstract

The present study is a comparative examination of the impact diverse levels of administrative and fiscal decentralization has on the outlook of local political elites in East-Central Europe, namely: (1) the local elites’ degree of isolation; (2) their attitudes towards increased decentralization, and (3) their level of satisfaction as inhabitants of the towns they govern. After establishing a conceptual framework, which includes taxonomies of decentralization and of the local administrative organization, the present study concentrates upon three case-studies, meant to illustrate a range of hypotheses about the manner in which the dynamics of decentralization produce significant changes in the outlook (i.e. from contacts and interactions to attitudes regarding decentralization proper) of the local political elites.