Local Government and Democratic Political Development

The spread of democratic ideas and the emergence of a global system have contributed to a resurgence of the local. One major form of decentralization in the twentieth century has been the breakup of empires into nation-states, the most recent example being the Soviet Union. The pressures for democratization have led to a new emphasis on local governance below the level of the nation-state. The rise of a global political economy provides localities with an alternative to national capitals. Although the patterns of local governance have similar features of provincial and local governments, the push for democracy will give local politics a greater role in the issues of peace and prosperity than has been true during the long recent period of the rise in authority of nation-states.