Local Democracy and Political Leadership: Drawing a Map

Haus, Michael; Sweeting, David

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.2006.00605.x

Cited by 76 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…At the same time, there are some areas of divergence, perhaps most notably around the relationship between political structures and political leadership and decision making, where leaders tend to produce views that fall somewhat closer to those elements of academic narratives that differentiate between practices and position (such as Haus and Sweeting, 2006) and those that are less convinced that structural change will necessarily provide the type of leadership sought by the government (including Lowndes and Leach, 2004) . For example, as noted earlier, the great majority of those interviewed clearly see their role and styles as being facilitative and inclusive in at least some respects, whilst the impact of context and personal capabilities discussed by Leach et al (2005), and the potential for conflict with local parties and party groups (Copus, 2004;Leach and Wilson, 2008) is also apparent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Political Leadership and the Modernisation of Local Government

Bochel

2010

Local Government Studies

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Political Leadership and the Modernisation of Local Government

Bochel

2010

Local Government Studies

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“…As Haus and Sweeting (2006) set out, developments in local governance are linked with different understandings of the concept of local democracy and have consequent different implications for the leadership role in a locality. The weak engagement between electors and representatives argues for a more visible and accountable leadership.…”

Section: Directly Elected Mayors-an Emerging Feature Of Urban Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Metro Mayors: Devolution, Democracy and the Importance of Getting the ‘Devo Manc’ Design Right

Gains

2015

Representation

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It is quite clear that the devolutionary settlement negotiated between the UK chancellor George Osborne and the leaders of the Greater Manchester Combined Authorities (GMCA) required local political actors to agree to oversight of the new arrangements by an elected metro mayor. In the intervening months since that announcement, governance arrangements for a Greater Manchester (GM) 'metro mayor' have proved to be both unique and fluid, drawing on earlier arrangements for electing mayors in Greater London, other city mayors, the Police and Crime Commissioner arrangements and the existing arrangements in the ten local authorities making up the GMCA. This article maps the development of the GM metro mayor and argues the unique governance arrangements set a path for other areas who want to extend a devolutionary agenda and negotiate enhanced devolutionary powers. However the governance arrangements developing for the GM metro mayor pose questions about the checks and balances built into these new executive arrangements. In particular how accountability and scrutiny of the metro mayor should be conducted going forward in GM, and elsewhere. In concluding it is argued that the metro mayoral model needs to include and prioritise democratic engagement alongside economic and social goals as a crucial element in making the new arrangements work.

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“…It takes local government as the focal point of the tensions between leadership and democracy since this is where calls for citizen participation in decision-making and responsiveness increasingly collide with decisive, independent decision-making by local leaders (John & Cole, 1999;Borraz & John, 2004; Haus, Heinelt & Stewart, 2005;Haus & Sweeting, 2006). It is at the local level especially that tensions emerge within the traditional representative democracy Making directive decisions in an ill-disposed democratic environment requires innovative political repertoires, the effectiveness of which is well worth studying.…”

Section: List Of Tablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decide and Defend: Regaining Authority for Controversial Decisions Through Rendering Account

Karsten

2013

SSRN Journal

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Cover design: Lisa KeijzerCover photo: Edwin Wiekens (made in Breda, the Netherlands; not one of the cases included in this book) Layout and printing: Optima Grafische Communicatie, Rotterdam, the Netherlands ISBN 978-94-6169-356-3 © Niels Karsten, 2013All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing from the proprietor(s). Decide and Defend Regaining authority for controversial decisions through rendering accountProefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan Tilburg University op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof. dr. Ph. Eijlander, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties aangewezen commissie in de aula van and suddenly you are doing the impossible." Most of the mayors and aldermen discussed in this thesis have done just that. They have managed to establish necessary, but highly controversial facilities for the homeless and have regained authority for their location decisions through explaining and justifying why they made these particular decisions. They have effectively shown directive leadership in a context that is particularly ill-disposed towards such a leadership style. Considering the controversiality of human service facility location decisions and the general mistrust of directive leadership, political-executives' ability to regain authority was unexpected. And indeed, not all succeeded in doing so to the same extent. The aim of this thesis was to gain understanding of how making controversial decisions affects executives' authority, more specifically, whether and how the rendering of account influences mayors and aldermen's authority. My attempt to answer that question has been an unforgettable experience, a true journey of discovery in the realm of locational conflict.Back in 2008, the project started out as a predominantly theoretical enterprise that focused on the relationship between the call for stronger leadership and the call for responsiveness. If it had not been for my supervisor, prof. Frank Hendriks, this thesis would have contained a multitude of intricate conceptual explorations of 'leadership', 'accountability', 'authority', 'political support', and the like. What I will remember most of Frank's supervision is the 'tja…' he occasionally wrote in the margins of sections of my work that I mistakenly thought of as original, though-provoking, and relevant pieces. I have taken 'tja…' to be the Frankian euphemism for 'I cannot say it is wrong', or even 'well thought out, well-written, but utterly irrelevant'. My sincere thanks, Frank, for reminding me to "really say something about really something", as you like to phrase it. A second word of thanks goes out to my co-supervisor, dr. LinzeSchaap, who has also played his part in 'keeping things real' by encouraging me to go out into the field, and at the same time keeping me sharp on non-subst...

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Local Democracy and Political Leadership: Drawing a Map

Cited by 76 publications

References 48 publications

Local Political Leadership and the Modernisation of Local Government

Local Political Leadership and the Modernisation of Local Government

Metro Mayors: Devolution, Democracy and the Importance of Getting the ‘Devo Manc’ Design Right

Decide and Defend: Regaining Authority for Controversial Decisions Through Rendering Account

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