Magister Commercii - MCom / The aim is to deepen the South African democracy at all levels of government. However, as local government is “the closest to the people” it is regarded by government as the most appropriate sphere to implement participatory democracy mechanisms. Pertaining to this, ward committees were introduced as the main participatory vehicle of local governance and in addition, the government has also implemented alternative instruments such as izimbizos and the integrated development planning (IDP) process to engage citizens in local governance.

This diploma thesis traces the development of the Capital City of Prague`s regional and municipal governmental bodies from 1918 to 1960. The work consists of five main chapters. The first chapter outlines the state of Prague`s municipality prior to 1918. The second chapter spans from 1918 (the birth of Czechoslovakia) to 1938 and the signing of the Munich Agreement. The third chapter covers the period of the Nazi occupation. The fourth chapter draws focus to the post-war developments in Czechoslovakia. The final chapter depicts the processes of public administration during the communist totalitarianism between 1948 and 1960. The objective of diploma thesis is describe important events in development of Capital City of Prague. The work also pays attention to individual representatives of Prague`s municipal politics. Key words: local governance- municipal governance- Primátor (Mayor)- Prague- municipal elections- City Hall-

Der lokalen Ebene wird im weltweiten Anpassungsprozess an die Folgen des Klimawandels eine entscheidende Rolle zugedacht. Für den bundesdeutschen Raum wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit die kommunale Gemeinschaft aus Bürgern, Politik, Verwaltung und Wirtschaft als diejenige Akteurskonstellation identifiziert, in der sich eine auf dem kooperativ-strategischen Leitbild basierende lokale Klimafolgenanpassung nachhaltig implementieren lässt. Der Kommunalverwaltung und -politik schreibt die Arbeit hierbei im Sinne eines Good Local Climate Change Adaptation Governance die Initiierungs-, Koordinierungs- und Moderationsfunktion für den komplexen Adaptionsprozess zu. Dass sich dieser auf der kommunalen Ebene noch nicht etabliert hat, wird in der Arbeit durch eine empirische Untersuchung in der Metropolregion Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg beispielhaft aufgezeigt. Zum Abbau der Diskrepanz zwischen der exponierten Rollenzuteilung und der empirischen Wirklichkeit in den Kommunen, entwickelt die Dissertation ein methodengestütztes Prozessmodell zum kommunalen Klimafolgenmanagement. Dieses bildet einen idealisierten Verlauf des kommunalen Anpassungsprozesses ab und diskutiert unterstützende Werkzeuge zur Umsetzung der einzelnen Prozessphasen. Die Praxistauglichkeit des entwickelten Modells wird im Rahmen einer Fallstudie in der Region Lachte-Lutter-Lüß demonstriert.

This paper examines the implementation of biodiversity in local policy in the cities of Melbourne and Stockholm. Using process tracing as methodology, the study examines the process from the time the process to develop a policy on climate adaptation is initiated, to the time it is adopted. The process is examined in order to determine if and how biodiversity is included in local climate adaptation policies. Particular attention is paid to citizen participation in local governance in the process examined in the light of the research and theories developed by Elinor Ostrom. The paper finds biodiversity to be included in the policy outlined in the policy document in Melbourne, and citizen participation in local governance may have been conducive to this result. In contrast, biodiversity is included but in a less pronounced manner in the climate adaptation policy in Stockholm, and there seems to be no citizen participation in the policy process examined. These results indicate that citizen participation in local governance could be a contributing factor to biodiversity being included in local climate adaptation policy. It is however not unequivocally determined that it is in fact a causal mechanism.

承載著國共兩岸之間的紛擾與記憶的兩蔣文化園區，歷經了戒嚴時期（1945年－1987年）、解嚴後的民主化、去蔣化的風波及後續的重啟再生，已從原先專為蔣氏服務的行館到現今為大眾所觀賞的景點，文化園區的發展脈絡見證由傳統由上而下的直接「統治」到多元參與的地方「治理」的過程。值得關注的是，文化園區的發展並非僅有政府、私部門及市民社會之間的互動，亦會受到外在政治系絡的影響。在園區的發展過程中，行動者之間的協力主要是以「信任」關係作為互動的基礎。同時，對於兩蔣文化是否具有一定的「共識」也是影響園區的鞏固及未來的發展。職是之故，本研究以治理理論作為主軸，藉由兩蔣文化園區的歷史發展軌跡，描繪出從統治到治理的過程，而根源於在地的兩蔣文化園區，應以地方治理模式進行理解其中各個行動者：公部門、私部門、地方團體及市民社會如何一同經營兩蔣文化園區，並輔以「鑲嵌理論」作為底蘊，探究園區的形成與治理互動關係。 / The Culture Resort of the Chiangs carried the troubles and memories of KMT and Communist Party of China between the two straits, going through the period of the martial law (1945-1987), democratization after martial law, de-Chiang-ization and subsequently restarting. Originally, the Chiangs’ Park designed for the Chiang’s family, now it becomes a public attraction; meanwhile, it reveals from the traditional top-down direct “government” to a pluralistic participation “governance” of the process. It is noteworthy that the development of the Culture Resort of the Chiangs has an interaction between the government, private sector and civil society. Besides, the political context affected the Chiangs’ Park in the development process. The “trust” relationship between each actor is the basic element for collaboration.At the same time; the certain “consensus” of the Chiangs plays an important role of consolidation and future development of the park.Therefore, this study uses governance theory as a spindle, with the historical trend of the Culture Resort of the Chiangs, depicting the process from government to governance. Addtonally, the Chiangs’ Park rooted in Daxi, I use local governance theory to analyze the various actors: the public sector, private sector, local communities and civil society in the operation of the Culture Resort of the Chiangs; finally, I use “embeddedness theory” as the foundation, to explore the park's formatiom and interaction relationships.

The concept of participation seems to reflect in most development programmes that involve people at the grassroots level. In Ghana, the introduction of the decentralization programme in the late 1980s that aimed at promoting effective, comprehensive and rapid development, more especially in the rural areas also adopted participatory approach. The approach led to the introductory of district assembly system which was to enhance the involvement of people at the grassroots in participatory activities. However, since the introduction of the decentralisation system to promote grassroots level participation, the people are still inactive and the level of involvement in development decision-making still remains weak. To clearly understand these problems, the thesis has aimed at answering the following research questions; how are rural people involved in participatory practice in the development activities in their area; what barriers affect and hinder the active participation of rural people and how could these be addressed? Answers to those questions helped to examine the nature of participation at the grassroots level; understand how the district assembly adopt participatory practice and to ascertain the nature of barriers that hinder effective participatory practice. Using a case study approach for the investigation, an interpretivists and constructivists were the philosophical underpinnings of the investigation. The data was gathered through the use of focus group discussions and one-to-one informal interviews. It was observed that, participation continues to reflect in most rural development programmes, but there are key barriers that still continue to hamper the effectiveness of participatory practice. Power relations, threats, intimidations and more especially the use of juju and witchcraft which never featured in most development literature are among the major barriers that continue to weaken local people readiness to actively participate. Most rural people feel threaten to participate for the fear of being bewitched or killed through the use of juju, witchcraft or black magical powers. Without critically and effectively addressing those bottlenecks and barriers, and put community members at the pivot of decision-making, the use of outsiders' knowledge and ideas alone to address the problems of participation with the hope of improving the lives of the rural people will not yield any significant result.

La paradiplomatie est un concept novateur dans les relations internationales. C’est la doctrine qui essaie de cerner cette notion du point de vue conceptuel. Ainsi, sa définition varie d’un auteur à un autre. Et, les thématiques qui déterminent son champ d’action ne sont pas définies de manière exacte. Elle englobe la coopération décentralisée, les jumelages et les coopérations transfrontalières. Elle occupe une place prépondérante dans le droit des collectivités locales en France, en particulier les départements français d’Amérique, dans leurs relations avec leurs homologues caribéens. Les diverses actions paradiplomatiques de ces collectivités participent au développement durable dans le bassin caribéen. Elle constitue un véritable outil pour les collectivités afin de hisser le flambeau de la diplomatie française dans la Caraïbe. Dans cette optique, elle ne concurrence pas la diplomatie française mais, elle lui sert de complémentarité. Elle est fortement encadrée sur le plan juridique et institutionnel. En effet, la législation nationale, le droit de l’Union et le droit international déterminent sa mise en œuvre et ses limites. Des institutions au niveau national et international fournissent un cadre informationnel et éventuellement un appui financier. Cependant, la paradiplomatie impacte la gouvernance locale. / Paradiplomacy is an innovative concept in international relations. It is the doctrine that tries to define this notion from the conceptual point of view. Thus, its definition varies from one author to another. And the themes that determine its scope are not exactly defined. It encompasses decentralized cooperation, twinning and cross-border cooperation. It occupies a prominent place in the law of local authorities in France, in particular the French departments of America, in their relations with their Caribbean counterparts. The various paradiplomatic actions of these communities contribute to sustainable development in the Caribbean basin. It is a real tool for communities to raise the torch of French diplomacy in the Caribbean. In this perspective, it does not compete with French diplomacy, but complement it. It is heavily regulated from a legal and institutional point of view. Indeed, national legislation, EU law and international law determine its implementation and its limits. Institutions at national and international levels provide an informational framework and possibly financial support. However, paradiplomacy impacts local governance.

<p>Beginning in the 1990s, sustainability indicators have rapidly been developed in different political contexts to measure progress towards reaching sustainable development. Previous research has largely focused on developing models and criteria for defining indicators in order to identify scientifically sound systems. However, sustainability indicators represent more than pure aggregated data; they represent values. This thesis takes its departure in seeing indicators as socially constructed, and aims to explore the role(s) indicators play in governance for local sustainable development. The traditional environmental policy discourse characterised by rationality and efficiency became challenged in the 1990s by the Agenda 21 discourse, emphasizing the need for citizen participation for environmental governance. Notions of efficiency and participation are, however, often in conflict since achieving participation is time consuming and efficiency requires results within short time frames. Thus, a tension in governance is created which is especially apparent at the local level and in politics relating to sustinable development.</p><p>In this study, Sweden is seen as an extreme case in terms of implementing sustainable development policies. Swedish local authorities have been at the international forefront in developing sustainability indicators. Here, the work surrounding seven different sustainability indicator systems in three Swedish municipalities is analysed. The overall research question relates to the tension in governance: Are the sustinability indicators driven primarily by efficiency or participatory claims? The analytical framework combines two different, yet linked theoretical approaches: an institutional approach, which captures the organizational arrangements of the indicator systems; and a discourse inspired approach, shedding light on underlying notions and ‘problem’ representations embedded in the indicator systems. Interviews with politicians and local officers and written material serve as the main empirical sources.</p><p>The analysis shows that local sustainability indicators vary to a great extent regarding their scope, which implies that sustainable development is interpreted differently depending on the local context. In general, goals linked to ‘soft’ issues like democracy, awareness raising and learning tend to be less indicated than ‘hard’ issues such as pure natural scientific measures. Oftenmost, participation is interpreted in its ‘weak’ form, that is stakeholders and citizens are being informed about political decisions taken or are invitated to attend meetings. Many politicians express concern abut participatory methods that aim for empowering citizens, claiming that this is in conflict with the idea of representative democracy. Surprisingly, the more participatory driven indicator systems have not become established in the municipal organisation despite the involvement of many different stakeholders in the developing process. In contrast, the more efficiency driven systems, have been internally anchored but involved very few external stakeholdes in the process. These latter systems are therefore most likely to be used and implemented. In general, politicians’ trust in expert knowledge in policy making is high and it is difficult to involve citizens in that process. Also, because work with sustainable development issues in general, and indicators in particular, is largely seen as projects rather than processes, the efficiency ideal prevails in local policy making – maybe not in rhetoric, but certainly in practice.</p>

Beginning in the 1990s, sustainability indicators have rapidly been developed in different political contexts to measure progress towards reaching sustainable development. Previous research has largely focused on developing models and criteria for defining indicators in order to identify scientifically sound systems. However, sustainability indicators represent more than pure aggregated data; they represent values. This thesis takes its departure in seeing indicators as socially constructed, and aims to explore the role(s) indicators play in governance for local sustainable development. The traditional environmental policy discourse characterised by rationality and efficiency became challenged in the 1990s by the Agenda 21 discourse, emphasizing the need for citizen participation for environmental governance. Notions of efficiency and participation are, however, often in conflict since achieving participation is time consuming and efficiency requires results within short time frames. Thus, a tension in governance is created which is especially apparent at the local level and in politics relating to sustinable development. In this study, Sweden is seen as an extreme case in terms of implementing sustainable development policies. Swedish local authorities have been at the international forefront in developing sustainability indicators. Here, the work surrounding seven different sustainability indicator systems in three Swedish municipalities is analysed. The overall research question relates to the tension in governance: Are the sustinability indicators driven primarily by efficiency or participatory claims? The analytical framework combines two different, yet linked theoretical approaches: an institutional approach, which captures the organizational arrangements of the indicator systems; and a discourse inspired approach, shedding light on underlying notions and ‘problem’ representations embedded in the indicator systems. Interviews with politicians and local officers and written material serve as the main empirical sources. The analysis shows that local sustainability indicators vary to a great extent regarding their scope, which implies that sustainable development is interpreted differently depending on the local context. In general, goals linked to ‘soft’ issues like democracy, awareness raising and learning tend to be less indicated than ‘hard’ issues such as pure natural scientific measures. Oftenmost, participation is interpreted in its ‘weak’ form, that is stakeholders and citizens are being informed about political decisions taken or are invitated to attend meetings. Many politicians express concern abut participatory methods that aim for empowering citizens, claiming that this is in conflict with the idea of representative democracy. Surprisingly, the more participatory driven indicator systems have not become established in the municipal organisation despite the involvement of many different stakeholders in the developing process. In contrast, the more efficiency driven systems, have been internally anchored but involved very few external stakeholdes in the process. These latter systems are therefore most likely to be used and implemented. In general, politicians’ trust in expert knowledge in policy making is high and it is difficult to involve citizens in that process. Also, because work with sustainable development issues in general, and indicators in particular, is largely seen as projects rather than processes, the efficiency ideal prevails in local policy making – maybe not in rhetoric, but certainly in practice.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera kommunsammanläggningen i Sverige under åren 1963 – 1974 utifrån ett Hästvedaperspektiv. Hästveda kommun tillsammans med flertalet andra småkommuner blev en del av det som kom att kallas Hässleholms kommun 1974. Uppsatsen utreder vilka reaktioner och diskussioner som fanns hos såväl kommunalfullmäktige och anställda i kommunhuset, men också hos invånarna i kommunen. Uppsatsen undersöker också om Hästveda kommun vid sammanläggningen hade några finansiella tillgångar kvar.Syftet är också att undersöka varför Hästveda gick med i just i det som skulle bli Hässleholms kommun och inte i någon annan närliggande kommun.Undersökningen är gjort utifrån protokoll, tidningsartiklar, insändare, intervjuer och krönikor.