The Role of Local Political Elites in East Central Europe

Introduction. Theoretical assessments on political elites

Brief Literature Review on the Territory of Local Leadership

Brief Digression on the National Elites in East-Central Europe: Elites

Effectuating Change Methodology: the Scope, the Questions, the Sampling and the Sampling Methods

The Local (Municipal) Council: General Presentation

a. Theoretical overview on local government systems

b. Local Councils in Romania

c. Municipal Councils in the Czech Republic

d. Municipal Councils in Poland

e. Bodies of Representatives in Hungary

f. Municipal Councils in the Slovak Republic

g. Local Councils in Bulgaria

The main functions of the Local/ Municipal Council: Organizational Chart and Budget in Tecuci, Ceská Lípa, Olesnica, Gyula, Targovishte, and Levice. The Committees of the Local/ Municipal Council

a. Organizational chart of the local administration of the municipality

b. The Committees of the Local/ Municipal Council

c. The adoption of the local budget

Social Biography of the members of the Local/ Municipal Councils in Tecuci, Ceská Lípa, Olesnica, Gyula, Targovishte, and Levice

How "elitist" is the local political elite in Tecuci, Ceská Lípa, Olesnica, Gyula, Targovishte, and Levice?

Patterns of Recruitment

Interactions with other groups and institutions. Networks of interactions
Values embraced by the local political elite

Priorities of the local political elite Representativeness of the Local/ Municipal Council

a. Nationality

b. Gender

c. Educational level

d. Age

e. Religion

f. Matrimonial status

g. Place of birth

The paradigmatic case of Poland: Local Political Elite in Olesnica: recruitment, priorities, values, socio-economic outlook (A comparison to the local political elites in Tecuci and Ceská Lípa)

Concluding Remarks

Explanatory trajectories: the "legacy of the ancien régime"

Explanatory trajectories: the level of administrative decentralization

Practical exercise: Explaining interactions and priorities of the local political elites by the two variables

Limitations and contingencies of the research

An attempted typology of local political elites in ECE Annexes

References
A Typology of Local Political Elites in East-Central Europe