There are many reasons why it is important to study local politics—political culture, government, political process—in Communist party states. As in all politics, local politics in Communist party states are the political articulation of the local community. This is the political arena where policies concerning local issues are formulated by the officials. This is where the officials are approached by citizens with their particular demands. This is where citizens articulate their preferences, aspirations, and values through political participation. And this is where officials, both elected and appointed, are recruited. In this volume, Daniel N. Nelson has assembled a team of international scholars to consider local politics in Communist party states including the U.S.S.R., China, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Romania. Together, they explore how local social and political forces are articulated in the national and party organizations; they also reveal how the study of comparative local politics provides vitality for the study of national politics. Rather than treating local communities as receivers and translators of national inputs, the contributors demonstrate that the local dimension and national politics mutually influence one another and illuminate the social reality in communist societies.

Der englischsprachige Band führt ein in die Lokal- und Regionalpolitik der mittel-osteuropäischen Reformländer. Der Band beleuchtet aktuelle Probleme der Kommunal- und Regionalpolitik in den Ländern Mittel-Osteuropas, einschließlich Russlands. Zentral sind Fragen der Beziehungen zwischen zentraler, regionaler und lokaler Politik- und Verwaltungsebene, der lokalen Demokratie und Partizipation sowie Fragen der Verwaltungsmodernisierung.

This book, based on extensive original research, examines the changes resulting from transformation at the local level in the former Czechoslovakia.

An encyclopedia designed especially to meet the needs of elementary, junior high, and senior high school students.

Specially written for an American audience, this accessible encyclopedic survey covers politics in every individual European nation and in the European Union. The two-volume Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics is the first encyclopedic survey of politics in Europe especially written for a wide American public, including high school students. The first volume places national developments and institutions in a Europe-wide context and includes tables comparing European politics with U.S. politics. The second volume discusses the individual European nations by regional group, facilitating comparison of a country with neighboring nations. All European countries are covered, including Turkey, Russia, and the Caucasian republics of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Each country profile includes an introduction to the land, the people, the economy, and the culture, as well as a timeline of historic highlights. The nation's political system is discussed, as are public policies and the major political parties. Each entry also provides tables listing heads of state, the composition of the legislative body, and the political leaders.