Gerry Stoker is Professor of Governance at the University of Southampton, UK.

'...a valuable contribution to understanding the nature of change in local governance in recent years, and to debates about the future of local governance and democracy in the years to come. Its accounts of local democracy should be compulsory reading for all who claim an interest in the nature of government and public policy.' - Robina Goodlad, Housing Studies

• Introduction: Normative Theories of Local Government and Democracy; G.StokerTheorising Democracy and Local Government; D.BeethamPublic Choice and Local Governance; K.DowdingPublic Services, Efficiency and Local Democracy; K.WalshThe Value of Community; E.FrazerFeminism and the Attractions of the Local; A.PhillipsGreen Arguments for Local Democracy; H.WardTheories of Local Democracy in the United States; H.WolmanNormative Theories of Local Government: A European Comparison; M.GoldsmithFrom Theories to Practices: Looking for Local Democracy in Britain; A.CochraneConclusion; D.King.