Role of Local Political Elites in East Central Europe

Roxana Marin holds a PhD from the University of Bucharest, Romania.

• Introduction. Theoretical assessments on political elites Brief Literature Review on the Territory of Local Leadership Brief Digression on the National Elites in East-Central Europe: Elites Effectuating ChangeMethodology: the Scope, the Questions, the Sampling and the Sampling Methods The Local (Municipal) Council: General Presentation a. Theoretical overview on local government systems b. Local Councils in Romania c. Municipal Councils in the Czech Republic d. Municipal Councils in Poland e. Bodies of Representatives in Hungary f. Municipal Councils in the Slovak Republic g. Local Councils in Bulgaria The main functions of the Local/ Municipal Council: Organizational Chart and Budget in Tecuci, Česká Lípa, Oleśnica, Gyula, Targovishte, and Levice. The Committees of the Local/ Municipal Council a. Organizational chart of the local administration of the municipality b. The Committees of the Local/ Municipal Council c. The adoption of the local budget Social Biography of the members of the Local/ Municipal Councils in Tecuci, Česká Lípa, Oleśnica, Gyula, Targovishte, and Levice How “elitist” is the local political elite in Tecuci, Česká Lípa, Oleśnica, Gyula, Targovishte, and Levice? Patterns of Recruitment Interactions with other groups and institutions. Networks of interactionsValues embraced by the local political elite Priorities of the local political eliteRepresentativeness of the Local/ Municipal Council a. Nationality b. Gender c. Educational level d. Age e. Religion f. Matrimonial status g. Place of birth The paradigmatic case of Poland: Local Political Elite in Oleśnica: recruitment, priorities, values, socio-economic outlook (A comparison to the local political elites in Tecuci and Česká Lípa) Concluding Remarks Explanatory trajectories: the “legacy of the ancien régime” Explanatory trajectories: the level of administrative decentralization Practical exercise: Explaining interactions and priorities of the local political elites by the two variables Limitations and contingencies of the research An attempted typology of local political elites in ECEAnnexes ReferencesA Typology of Local Political Elites in East-Central Europe