Reforming Local Councils and the Role of Councillors: A Comparative Analysis of Fifteen European Countries

Abstract

Council-based representative democracy is under challenge in most European countries. This chapter explores whether attempts to restore and improve conditions for the council and the councilors are related to the extent that local government is legitimate in different countries. Local government legitimacy requires the consent of both the state and the citizens. The analysis, based on data from 15 European countries, suggests that reform activities are highest and the content of the reforms are the most developed in countries where local government enjoys support from both the state and the citizens. Where one or both of these requirements are missing, and in particular in countries hit by the financial crisis, direct means of democracy rather than those strengthening representative democracy tend to preferred.