Local Elites, Political Capital and Democratic Development

1. Front Matter

   Pages 1-20

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2. Introduction: Studying Local Elites and Democratic Development

   1. Introduction: Studying Local Elites and Democratic Development

      • Stefan Szücs, Lars Strömberg

      Pages 21-36

3. Western Democracies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 37-37

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   2. The Untouchables: Stability among the Swedish Local Elite

      • Stefan Szücs, Lars Strömberg

      Pages 39-70

   3. From Despair to Complacency: The Development of the Dutch Local Elite

      • Michiel S. de Vries

      Pages 71-98

4. The New Baltic Democracies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 99-99

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   2. Toward Democratic Governance: The Lithuanian Local Elite

      • Arvydas Matulionis, Svajone Mikene, Rimantas Rauleckas

      Pages 101-142

   3. Estonian Local Elites a Decade after the Transition to Democracy

      • Rein Vöörmann

      Pages 143-172

   4. The Development of Democracy and Local Governance in Latvia

      • Edvins Vanagas, Lilita Seimuskane, Inga Vilka

      Pages 173-201

5. The Commonwealth of Independent States

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 203-203

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   2. Local Governance in Belarus during the Regime of Authoritarian Democracy

      • Janna Grischenko, Natalia Elsukova, Elena Kuchko

      Pages 205-230

   3. The Formation of Democracy and Local Governance in Russia

      • Zhan Toschenko, Timour Tsibikov

      Pages 231-254

6. Comparative Analysis Across Countries and Cities

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 255-255

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   2. Universal Change and the Conditions for Democratic Development

      • Stefan Szücs, Lars Strömberg

      Pages 257-292

   3. Political Capital and How it Grows

      • Stefan Szücs, Lars Strömberg

      Pages 293-313

   4. Conclusion: Democracy Needs Local Political Capital

      • Stefan Szücs, Lars Strömberg

      Pages 315-333

7. Correction to: Local Elites, Political Capital and Democratic Development

   • Stefan Szücs, Lars Strömberg

   Pages C1-C1

8. Back Matter

   Pages 335-386

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Local Elites, Political Capital and Democratic Development is another solid step forward in a significant, decentralized research program, Democracy and Local Governance (DLG), which was initiated in the summer of 1991 -- just th after one of the final great political transformations of the 20 Century. Other research reports (B. Jacob, et al. , Democracy and Local Governance: Nine - pirical Studies, Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, 1999) have extended the scope of the Democracy and Local Governance Research program to other countries. This book is a point of departure not only from those research reports but also from almost all other research on local democracy in that it is based on observations at three points in time and introduces the concept of - litical capital as an explanatory variable. It also demonstrates the power of g- eral theoretical frameworks in advancing knowledge by focusing additional empirical research in theoretically productive ways. The structure of the research design in this report is quintessentially c- parative: it is cross-system (seven countries); cross-time (at least three points in time for five countries); and cross-levels, i. e. local-national – it is, in fact, global. This not only enables the isolation of differences among countries but also the identification of sequential dynamics of change.

• Europe
• Governance
• democracy
• development
• local-global relations
• networks
• stability
• state
• values

Stefan Szücs, PhD. is a political scientist in the Department of Political Science and the Center for Public Sector Research (CEFOS), Göteborg University, Sweden.
Lars Strömberg is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the Department of Political Science and the Center for Public Sector Research (CEFOS), Göteborg University, Sweden.

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