Size and Local Democracy

Bas Denters, Professor of Public Governance, University of Twente, the Netherlands, Michael Goldsmith, Professor Emeritus, University of Salford, UK, the late Andreas Ladner, formerly Professor of Political Institutions and Public Administration, Swiss Graduate Institute of Public Administration (IDHEAP), University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Poul Erik Mouritzen, Professor of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark and Lawrence E. Rose, Professor of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway

‘This is a clearly structured, well written and highly innovative contribution to the old question of whether size matters for the quality of democracy. By analysing survey and aggregate data from 234 municipalities in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway, the authors present broad empirical evidence on the varying impact of size on democracy. Size relates differently to various attributes of good citizenship and plays a different role in the four countries. The theoretically and methodologically ambitious study conveys important and interesting results and deserves broad attention in the community.’

• Contents: Part I. Introduction 1. Size and Local Democracy 2. Confronting the Research Challenge 3. The Research Context Part II. The Social and Political Environment of Local Government 4. Social Embeddedness 5. Perceived Government Challenges Part III. Cognitive and Evaluative Aspects of Democracy 6. Political Interest and Knowledge 7. Political Competence 8. Political Confidence 9. Satisfaction with Municipal Performance Part IV. Participatory Aspects of Democracy 10. Elections and Electoral Participation 11. Non-electoral Participation 12. Direct Democratic Participation in Switzerland Part V. Conclusion 13. Through the Funnel of Causality 14. Size and Local Democracy – A Summary Aassessment Index