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Local Government in a Comparative Perspective

STVC75 – Bachelor course in Political science (7.5 credits).

This course focuses on local politics and administration in democratic systems in a comparative perspective. The course includes web-based elements in collaboration with other European universities.

Empirically, the approach is a comparative perspective on the organizing principles and primary activities of the local public sector as well as relationships between the public sector and other actors at the local level. Furthermore, we compare how opportunities for citizen participation are organized within different European systems at the local level.

We problematize, among other things, the autonomy of local government with respect to governance, control and organization. Broad trends in current research on urbanization, management reforms and demographic changes will be considered. The course raises principle and normative issues of democracy, power and control. How autonomous are the local governments in practice, what is their official mandate and how autonomous should they be in order to be able to solve the challenges they face?

The course is based on cooperation with universities in Europe. Teaching will take place in the form of combined lectures and seminars at the department of political science at Lund University and, through a web-based collaboration with European universities in the form of recorded lectures, interactive elements between students and a final video conference. Participation in all seminar activities is mandatory.

Literature (pdf, new window)
Syllabus (pdf, new window)

Contact

Helen Fogelin

International coordinator – incoming students

Room: 234
Telephone: +46 (0)46-2228951
E-mail: helen [dot] fogelin [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se