Thesis (PhD (Public Affairs))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (PhD--Development Studies)--University of Auckland, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves i-v). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2004. / Advisor: Mark Sproule-Jones. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-250). Also available online.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / The federal government has undertaken a massive reorganization in order to create the Department of Homeland Security, and a parallel debate over how to organize homeland security functions has arisen at the State and Local government levels. In a time of severe budget constraints and rapidly changing threats, governments at all levels recognize the need for multiple government agencies, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to work together in order to provide effective homeland security. The effort to improve cooperation, especially at the "first responder" level, has become a major priority in the homeland security arena. How then can local governments improve interagency cooperation for homeland security? A recent conference of government officials and homeland security experts concluded that the central coast of California has one of the best emergency preparedness systems in the country. This thesis examines the high level of interagency cooperation that has arisen among public safety agencies in Monterey County, California in order to determine what factors have contributed to their success and how they might be applied in other situations. The author proposes that theories from multiple disciplines can provide insight into the likelihood and ability of organizations to cooperate. / Major, United States Army

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Jeffrey W. Knopf, Peter R. Lavoy. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-89). Also available online.

Magister Legum - LLM / In 2014, the African Union (AU) adopted the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development (the African Charter on Decentralisation). The Charter is a first of its kind to provide a decentralisation framework for local government on the African continent. It seeks to use local government as a vehicle for improving the livelihoods of people on the African continent. Member States of the AU will only be bound by the African Charter on Decentralisation once they have ratified it. The actual impact of the Charter to improve the livelihood of people on the African continent is unknown. This research paper provides a critical analysis of the Charter in order to establish its potential. The analysis is undertaken against the background of the international literature on decentralisation and 'best' practices on local government. / South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)

This research summarizes, compares and analyzes the origins and developments of integration in Europe, Asia and Africa since World War Two. There have been some interesting findings. Europe has been the most successful region, having realized free movements of people, goods, services and money in several countries within the European Union (EU). Africa has been more advanced in institutional integration than Asia, although its level of economic development, constrained by instability, corruption, and poor socio-economic conditions, has hindered integration; meanwhile, its regional economic communities (RECs) have been more successful than the continental organization. Despite the improved economic conditions, Asia has been experiencing difficulties in community building due to lack of consensus and a partnership among major powers. There has not been any continental organization in Asia; nor has the subregional grouping, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), progressed far in economic and political integration. / x, 327 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D. in Political Science)--Vanderbilt University, May 2010. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

American cities have proliferated in the post-War era. More than 2,000 new cities were founded between 1950 and 2000. While the history of the local government boom has been documented, research into urban fragmentation has explored why there is no consolidation of metropolitan areas rather than exploring why Americans chose fragmentation initially. This dissertation proposes that individuals create new jurisdictions because individuals prefer to have governments which give them the services individuals desire, even if they could have similar (but not perfect) services cheaper in a larger jurisdiction. Individuals, however, must balance the benefit they get from better fitting cities with the price they must pay to live within the small cities. In the first part of the dissertation, I synthesize the literatures on urban governance and fragmentation with the literature on interest groups. This synthesis builds the argument for conceiving cities as interest groups and contributes a theory of urban behavior as the behavior of organized interest groups. I argue that urban fragmentation should exist anywhere there are urban areas –not only metropolises –and that fragmentation is produced by diversity in the population and constrained by the resources available for the formation of cities. In the second part of the dissertation, I analyze the fragmentation of both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas to determine what drives fragmentation. I use Poisson regression on 2-period panel data from 1992 and 2002 collected from various public sources. I find that there are differences in the forms of fragmentation in the metropolis and the non-metropolis. In both types of urban settlement, fragmentation is driven by political and population diversity and available resources for forming cities. Legal authority and intergovernmental revenue are particularly important. Finally, I turn my attention to cities’ interactions with each other. I use a survey of Kentucky mayors, fielded with the Kentucky League of Cities, to determine why mayors of different cities to communicate with each other. Using specialized network methods I find that mayor-to-mayor contact is not based on goal and interest similarities as expected, but rather depends on sharing an organization which encourages communication –an Area Development District.