RC05 - Comparative Studies on Local Government and Politics

LocGov Research Network

Carmen Navarro — Thu, 14 May 2026 08:23:00 -0400

Researchers from across Europe and beyond (LocGov Research Network) gathered at La Cristalera (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) from 7–10 May 2026 for the Seminar on Local Government Surveys, an intensive working meeting focused on the development of the Mayors III survey and the Professionalization and Politicization Project (PPP)

Municipal Councillors in Europe

Carmen Navarro — Thu, 14 May 2026 08:15:00 -0400

We are pleased to announce the publication of Municipal Councillors in Europe (volumes I and II), published by Springer as part of the Local and Urban Governance series. The volume offers a comprehensive comparative analysis of the role, profiles, attitudes, and challenges of local councillors across European countries, contributing to current debates on local democracy, political representation, and municipal governance. The book examines key themes such as political recruitment, representation, councillors’ relations with mayors and local administrations, policy priorities, professionalization, and the changing nature of local political leadership. Drawing on extensive comparative survey data and cross-national research, the volume provides valuable insights into how local councillors perceive their role and how local democracy is evolving across different institutional and political contexts. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-15556-6 and https://link.springer.com/book/9783032155597

Municipal Tasks and Financing

Carmen Navarro — Thu, 14 May 2026 08:12:00 -0400

We are pleased to announce the publication of Municipal Tasks and Financing: An Urban-Rural Perspective, edited by Francisco Velasco Caballero, Martin Burgi, and Karl Kössler. The volume provides a comparative and multidisciplinary analysis of how local governments perform their tasks and finance public services in contemporary urban and rural contexts. Bringing together contributions from the Horizon 2020 LoGov project across six continents, the book addresses key themes such as public transport policies, public service provision, public-private partnerships, financial equalization, and alternative sources of local revenue. The volume stands out for its global comparative perspective and its attention to the growing challenges generated by urban–rural inequalities and territorial transformation in local governance. The book is available in open access through https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-99812-6licació

Citizen Participation in Local Governance

Carmen Navarro — Thu, 14 May 2026 08:09:00 -0400

We are pleased to announce the publication of Citizen Participation in Local Governance: An Urban-Rural Perspective, edited by Karl Kössler and Erika Schläppi. The volume provides a comparative and multidisciplinary analysis of citizen participation in local governance, bringing together contributions from scholars involved in the Horizon 2020 LoGov project across six continents. The book addresses key themes such as participatory planning, participatory budgeting, digital participation, and citizen involvement in large-scale projects, while paying special attention to the urban–rural dimension of governance challenges. It also incorporates under-researched case studies from beyond Europe, offering a genuinely global perspective on local democracy and participation in the 21st century. The book is available in open access through https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-99824-9

Local Government Structure and Intergovernmental Relations

Carmen Navarro — Thu, 14 May 2026 08:03:00 -0400

We are pleased to announce the publication of Local Government Structure and Intergovernmental Relations, edited by Karl Kössler and Eva Maria Belser. The volume offers a rich comparative and global perspective on contemporary challenges in local governance, with contributions emerging from the Horizon 2020 LoGov project involving scholars from six continents. The book addresses key themes such as metropolitan governance, intergovernmental relations, municipal mergers, inter-municipal cooperation, and the representation of local interests from an urban–rural perspective. It also includes several under-researched cases beyond Europe, contributing to a broader comparative understanding of local government transformations worldwide. The book is available in open access through https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-99820-1

Global Survey on Academic Research in Local Government and Politics — Preliminary Results

Carmen Navarro — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:10:00 -0400

We are pleased to share the preliminary findings of the Global Survey on Local Government and Politics, an initiative launched by the IPSA Research Committee on Comparative Studies on Local Government and Politics (RC05). These preliminary results were presented at the 28th World Congress of Political Science (IPSA), held in Seoul in July 2025.

Led by Prof. Carmen Navarro (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) and Prof. Daniel Cravacuore (Universidad Nacional de Quilmes), this ongoing project aims to map the global landscape of academic research in the field. The survey explores scholars’ disciplinary backgrounds, thematic priorities, methodological choices, and evolving research agendas in local governance studies. With over 1,600 contacts collected through systematic searches of academic databases and direct outreach, the study provides an overview of the field across world regions.

The results presented here are provisional and based on data gathered up to June 2025. Final analyses will follow once the survey period concludes. We welcome your comments and contributions to help us improve and enrich this global academic mapping effort.

Download the presentation

For more information or comments, please contact:

Carmen Navarro – c.navarro@uam.es
Daniel Cravacuore – dcravacuore@unq.edu.ar

RC05 Business Meeting – IPSA World Congress 2025

Carmen Navarro — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 05:30:00 -0400

RC05 held its Business Meeting during the IPSA World Congress in Seoul on July 15th, 2025. We are pleased to share the Minutes of the Meeting, which include a summary of activities from the past two years and outline the RC05 Work Plan for 2025–2027. You can read the full document [here].

RC05 Panels at the IPSA World Congress – Seoul 2025

Carmen Navarro — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 05:05:00 -0400

The Research Committee on Comparative Studies on Local Government and Politics (RC05) will be well represented at the IPSA World Congress in Seoul (12–16 July 2025), with 10 panels covering a wide range of topics, including climate resilience, intergovernmental coordination, citizen engagement, and local democracy.

The panels reflect the active participation and growing interest of a broad academic community working on local government. We invite all congress participants to join our sessions and connect with colleagues from around the world.

Please find the whole schedule for the panels in the attached document

http://rc05.ipsa.org/public/RC05_Comparative_Studies_on_Local_Government_and_Politics.pdf

The Local Autonomy Index 2.0 (LAI 2.0)

Carmen Navarro — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 04:33:00 -0400

The Local Autonomy Index (LAI) is a multi-dimensional tool for conceptualizing and measuring local autonomy, first developed in 2015. The initial volume, published in 2019, focused on constructing the index and applying it to European countries, exploring patterns, causes, and consequences of local autonomy. This second volume introduces the LAI 2.0—an enhanced and expanded version covering countries across six continents. It offers a comparative analysis of local autonomy dynamics over a 30-year period (1990–2020). We hope this work becomes a key reference in the academic and policy debates on territorial organization, decentralization, public administration, local governance, and intergovernmental relations.

Link: https://www.elgaronline.com/monobook-oa/book/9781035337958/9781035337958.xml

New publications of our colleague Hellmut Wollmann

Carmen Navarro — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 12:29:00 -0400

There is a new book available Hellmut Wollmann titled "Local Government and Governance in Germany Challenges, Responses and Perspectives". More information of the book here: https://www.google.es/books/edition/Local_Government_and_Governance_in_Germa/j3olEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Also, there is a new edition of the classic book of our colleague "Introduction to Comparative Public Administration" coauthored by Sabine Kuhlmann, Hellmut Wollmann and Renate Reiter

IPSA RC05 on Local Government and Politics Sponsors a Panel on the GIGAPP International Conference, Madrid 23th September 2024

Carmen Navarro — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 10:20:00 -0400

https://congresoxii.gigapp.org/ipsa-rc05-seminar The initiative was held successfully and received papers from Italy, Brazil, Colombia, South Africa, Germany and Spain.

Travel Grants IPSA

Carmen Navarro — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 05:27:00 -0400

PhD students Jaedson Gomes and Exequiel Rodriguez have succesfully participated in the EUROLOC Summer School on Local Government and Politics, funded by the IPSA Research Committee 05.

http://rc05.ipsa.org/public/travel_grants_IPSA_rotated.pdf

Decision on the travel grants for the Summer School of Local Government and Politics

Carmen Navarro — Tue, 07 May 2024 11:38:00 -0400

Announcement of the Chair with the resolution of the travel grants for the Summer School of Local Government and Politics attached in the pdf below

http://rc05.ipsa.org/public/Decision_on_travel_grants.pdf

Call for applications: Travel Grants for the Summer School of Local Government and Politics

Carmen Navarro — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 17:40:00 -0400

The period to request the travel grants to participate in the Summer School of Local Government and Politics (Barcelona, July 2 ND to 5 th) is now open. The deadline is the 5 th of May. More information in the attached document below.

http://rc05.ipsa.org/public/Call_for_applications_Travel_Grants.pdf

Conference panels for the upcoming IPSA conference in Buenos Aires (15-19 July 2023)

Carmen Navarro — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 09:26:00 -0400

Below, you'll find an overview of the panels on Comparative Studies on Local Government and Politics for the upcoming IPSA conference in Buenos Aires.

RC05 Comparative Studies on Local Government and Politics

Convenor: Prof Norbert Kersting

Panels

RC05.10 A better seat at the table? Local Governments in Intergovernmental Relations
Chair: Dr. Daniel Alberto Cravacuore
SJ1 115
RC05.03 Decentralisation and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Chair: Prof. Fred Lazin
SJ2 204
RC05.06 Decentralization, Local Administration and Local Management Reforms
Chair: Prof. Ivan Koprić
SJ1 122
RC05.01 Local Participatory Democracy
Chair: Prof. José Hernández-Bonivento
SJ2 204
RC05.09 Local Policies
Chair: Prof. Eran Razin
SJ1 110
RC05.05 Local Political Actors-Mayors and Councillors
Chair: Prof. María Ángeles Huete García
SJ2 204
RC05.04 Local Political Participation
Chair: Dr. Chris Tapscott
SJ1 110
RC05.07 Shrinking Cities and Metropoles
Chair: Dr. Carmen Navarro
SJ1 122
RC05.08 Smart Cities
Chair: Prof. Norbert Kersting
SJ1 108

IPSA seminar on Smart Cities and Open Government (23/09/2022)

Carmen Navarro — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 08:11:00 -0400

Below, you'll find the program of our most recent event. Thanks to those who participated!

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IPSA Seminar – RC05, RC10, RC22 & AECPA

Smart Cities and Open Government: Local responses to participation, public information, and democracy

September 23rd. 2022

Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM- Spain)

Panel 01. Smart Cities September 23rd. 10:00 - 11:50 hrs. (Madrid) Super Aula (NT 115).
Chair: Prof. Norbert Kersting University Muenster. (Germany)

Panel 02. Open Government

Date; September 23rd. 12:00 - 13:50 hrs. (Madrid) Super Aula (NT 115). Chair: Prof. José A. Hernández-Bonivento Organization: Universidad Austral de Chile. (Chile)

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Author/s	Topic
Mohamad Amin Alomar & Mohammad Al Saleh	Smart deliberation at the local level? A study of social learning withing municipal councils in Brussels
Lenhard Hamza	Experimenting with the use of Smart City Concepts and Digital Solutions in Municipalities of the Global South: An International Development Cooperation Perspective in South Africa
Jill L. Tao	Smart and Green at the Local Level: Is It All for Naught?
Filipe Mello Rose	Hybrid Democratic Innovations: The case of Decidim.Barcelona
Rafael Amorim & José Varlos Vaz	Access to Technology and Democracy in Smart Cities: The Case of São Paulo
Norbert Kersting	Smart Cities, Online Participation, and the Covid-19 pandemic
Bastián González-Bustamante	Territorial Patterns in Digital Development and Open Government: Evidence from Chilean Local Governments
Ricardo Alvira Baeza	Citizens' participation in public government. On a consistent underlying democracy conceptualization and operationalization
Luiza Brunetti Silva Jardim	E-participation in tackling the pandemic: a mapping of the digital initatives of Brazilian city halls
Mary Francoli	How 'Local' are Action Plans submitted by OGP Local Participants?
Martine Legris	Local participatory budgets: an extension of political participation?
José A. Hernández-Bonivento	Who is asking for local public information? Predictors of Freedom of Information Requests to municipalities in Chile

Updated RC05 List of Panels for IPSA 2021

Carmen Navarro — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 06:29:00 -0400

RC 5 Business Meeting is on Tuesday 13.7. at 15:30 (UTC) (17:30 German summer time)
Use the zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84573466490?pwd=NS9kNElmcjVOUHZZQXhzeXZWU0xndz09.
The RC5 business meeting is open for all interested colleagues (no IPSA conference registration required!)

Please find here the updated list of all Panles held by the RC05 at the IPSA 2021. You can also access more details by clicking on the Panel name. We are looking forward to interesting and entertaining discussions with all of you.

Title	Convenor	Chair	Co-Chair	Discussants
Cities and Migration. Conflicts and Solutions	Prof. Norbert Kersting	Prof. Angel Iglesias		Dr. Pekka Kettunen
Decentralization and Sub-Municipal Units	Prof. Norbert Kersting	Dr. Filipe Teles		Prof. Eran Razin
Local administration and Fiscal policies in a comparative perspective	Dr. Andrew Matsiko	Dr. Andrew Matsiko		Dr. Parestico Pastory
Local Administration and Reform	Prof. Norbert Kersting	Prof. Eduardo Grin		Dr. Filipe Teles
Local Elections	Prof. Norbert Kersting	Prof. Eran Razin		Prof. Mirko Klarić
Local Elections. Candidates and Political Parties	Prof. Norbert Kersting	Prof. Euiyoung Kim		Prof. Snežana Djordjevic
Local Governance and Political Participation	Dr. José Hernández-Bonivento	Dr. José Hernández-Bonivento		Prof. Fiona Anciano
Local Governance in Contemporary Japan: Pressing Challenges and Innovative Approaches	Dr. Hanno Jentzsch	Dr. Hanno Jentzsch	Prof. Gabriele Vogt	Prof. Jill Tao
Local Government, State Capacities and Public Policies in Federal States of the Global South: Cities and the Environment from a Policy-Politics Perspective	Dr. Klaus Frey	Dr. Klaus Frey		Dr. Lúcio Bittencourt
Local Government, State Capacities and Public Policies in Federal States of the Global South: Federative Coordination and Multilevel Governance	Dr. Klaus Frey	Dr. Renata Bichir		Dr. Klaus Frey
Local Participatory Democracy	Dr. José Hernández-Bonivento	Prof. Fiona Anciano		Dr. José Hernández-Bonivento
Metropoles and Shrinking Cities	Prof. Norbert Kersting	Prof. Snežana Djordjevic		Prof. Euiyoung Kim
Smart Cities, Reforms and Local Democracy	Dr. Pekka Kettunen	Dr. Pekka Kettunen		Prof. Norbert Kersting

Call for Papers Lisbon 2020

Norbert Kersting — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 03:40:00 -0400

IPSA's 26th World Congress of Political Science in Lisbon (Portugal) July 24-28 2020 is coming closer.

The deadline for panel and papers is extended to October 24. 2019!!

Up till now we have 10 open panels, which cover most relevant topics. If you have not yet registered, use the chance to join one of these panels. In case we receive too many papers givers in a panel (max is 6) we will split the group and open another panel:

Preliminary list of open panels:

And closed panels:

Interplay of decentralization and recentralization under new circumstances Chair: Ivan Kopric

RC5 Conference on: “Public administration in a democratic society. Thirty years of democratic transition in Europe” in Dubrovnik, October 3.-5. 2019

Norbert Kersting — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 03:39:00 -0400

RC5 organized together with RC 32 the International Conference “Public administration in a democratic society. Thirty years of democratic transition in Europe”, which took place in Dubrovnik on October 3.-5. 2019.

More than 50 colleagues presented papers at parallel sessions. Others took part at the Round table discussions. The conference was perfectly organized by Prof Ivan Kopric and his team. This important theme, which showed an evaluation of the transitional process, 30 years after the winds of Change in 1989, focused furthermore on research questions such as: What are the key public administration concepts that promote and preserve democratic values in public governance in transition countries? How did different types of relations between public administration and politics determine transition outcomes? How did people, political actors, and scientists assess and evaluate the results of public governance transition? What were the goals of the transition and did or can transition end?

In the Award Ceremony Professor Emeritus Hellmut Wollmann (Humboldt University) received a – RC5 Recognition of Merit – for his important role in RC5 and his numerous academic contributions.

RC05 Business Meeting in Brisbane 2018

Norbert Kersting — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:49:00 -0500