The Powers of Local Government

Local government is an intriguing site for understanding possibilities for power and change. Historically and currently, local governments can be key players in resistance movements against their own central governments. Local government, in contrast to central forms of government, can be more connected to the people it governs and more able to hear and enact creative, innovative policies that have the potential for real change. That is, it can reflect civil society. At the same time, it tends to have much weaker authority and many fewer resources than other bodies of government. This course examines local government from multiple angles: historically; based on principles of political theory; in different places around the world; as breaucratic organizations; as reflecting and shaping communities; and as sites of creativity and imagination.