Modern Guide to Local and Regional Politics

Edited by Colin Copus, Emeritus Professor of Local Politics, De Montfort University, UK and Visiting Professor, University of Ghent, Belgium, Richard Kerley, Emeritus Professor of Management, Queen Margaret University, UK and Alistair Jones, Associate Professor and University Teacher Fellow, De Montfort University, UK

• Contents:1 Introduction: setting the scene 1Richard Kerley, Colin Copus and Alistair JonesPART I INTRA-STATE MODELS AND THETRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY2 Slovenia: the architecture of Slovenian intra-state arrangements 16Simona Kukovič3 Poland: local representation in Poland: betweengovernment and governance 30Katarzyna Radzik-Maruszak4 Central Asia: intra-state government in Central Asian autocracies 46Colin Knox5 Argentina: intra-state relations in Argentina: a permanentconflict between legal autonomy and political centralism 65Daniel Cravacuore and Andrew NicksonPART II THE AMERICAS6 USA: intra-state governments in the United States: powersand authority, elections, finances, and intergovernmentaldynamics 81J. Edwin Benton7 Canada: intra-state diversity and complexity 100Royce Koop8 Mexico: intra-state government in Mexico 116Ady Carrera and Andrew NicksonPART III SOUTHERN EUROPE9 Portugal: mind the gap: the hidden challenges of intra-stategovernments in Portugal 134Filipe Teles10 Spain: fragmentation and plurality: intra-state governmentsin decentralised Spain 149Esther PanoPART IV NORTHERN EUROPE11 Germany: interstate governmental relationships in FederalGermany 168Hubert Heinelt12 Iceland: intrastate governments in Iceland: still moregovernment than governance 184Eva Marín Hlynsdóttir13 Belgium: intra-state government and representation inBelgium: navigating a labyrinth or maze? 199Kristof Steyvers, Koenraad De Ceuninck, Tony Valckeand Tom VerhelstPART V BRITISH ISLES14 England: intra-state arrangements in England 218Alistair Jones15 Wales: ‘a work in progress’: the Senedd Cymru and Welshlocal government 234Russell Deacon16 Ireland: the Republic of Ireland: struggling to turn back thetide of centralism 250Aodh Quinlivan17 Scotland: in the United Kingdom: modernism, territory,devolved institutions and the union 263Neil McGarvey and Richard KerleyPART VI INTRA STATE RELATIONS:COMMONWEALTH APPROACH18 India: municipal governance in India 285Nirmala Rao and David Barun Kumar Thomas19 South Africa: South African local governance relations 302Norbert Kersting and Robert Cameron20 New Zealand: local government and governance inAotearoa New Zealand 315Julienne Molineaux and Andy Asquith21 Conclusion: intra-state government – a stable dynamic 335Colin Copus, Alistair Jones and Richard KerleyIndex

‘Is intra-state governance about collaboration or rivalry? A Modern Guide to Local and Regional Politics edited by Colin Copus, Richard Kerley and Alistair Jones gives the reader very interesting insights. It’s an impressive collection of chapters written by an international team of scholars. This Modern Guide will be essential reading for all those interested in the topic.’