Local Democracy

International IDEA Constitution-Building Primer 13
13,073
This publication is only available in electronic format
Published: 
6 July 2017
Language: 
English
Pages: 
43
ISBN: 
978-91-7671-118-7 (Print)
ISBN: 
978-91-7671-196-5 (PDF)
Author(s): 
Elliot W. Bulmer

Local democracy is the self-government of cities, towns, villages and districts by democratic means—typically, but not exclusively, through elected mayors, councils and other local officials.

International IDEA’s Constitution-Building Primers are designed to assist in-country constitution-building or constitutional-reform processes by helping citizens, political parties, civil society organizations, public officials and members of constituent assemblies make wise constitutional choices. They also provide guidance for staff of intergovernmental organizations and other external actors working to provide well informed, context-relevant support to local decision-makers.

Each Primer is written as an introduction for non-specialist readers, and as a convenient aide-memoire for those with prior knowledge of, or experience with, constitution-building. Arranged thematically around the practical choices faced by constitution-builders, the Primers aim to explain complex constitutional issues in a quick and easy way.

This revised and reformatted edition was published in October 2017.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. What is the issue?

3. Approaches to constitutionalizing local democracy

4. Contextual considerations

5. Protecting and enhancing local democracy

6. Alternatives to local democracy

7. Decision-making questions

8. Examples

References

Annex

Related Content

Jul
20
2022
Participants during previous training sessions by International IDEA-Al Fashir, Sudan, by International IDEA 

Participants during previous training sessions by International IDEA-Al Fashir, Sudan. Image credit: International IDEA.

News Article
Jul
04
2022
Image credit: AMISOM Public Information@flickr

Image credit: AMISOM Public Information@flickr

News Article
Jun
30
2022

Photo credit: Myanmar Project Collective / Visuallrebellion.org

News Article