Local Politics in Border Regions in Central Europe

A major problem in Europe, and especially Central Europe, is border regions dissected by national boundaries. These regions contain ethnically mixed populations. They now are expected to develop a viable democratic politics at the local level. Many have not yet even established their autonomy as legal entities; in most cases, local political parties do not exist there; and the regions have to address the problem of ethnic and language differences. Many of them were closed to their neighbors until the recent democratic transformation. The borders are now open. Although the prosperity of the border regions is dependent on the country of which they are a part, they are underdeveloped economically and socially by almost any standard, certainly a European one. The consequences of closure are several, but the peripheral status of these regions both within their own countries and in Europe is demonstrated by some basic indicators of the quality of life, including electricity, water supply, and health services.