Overview

The book aims to complement the existing research on democratic innovations mainly by making unique comparative analyses of the democratic innovations at the local level in selected European post-communist countries, i.e. the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

Significance of Democratic Innovations

Democratic innovations can help overcome political apathy, decreased confidence in democracy and improve efficiency of governance.

Role of Cities and Municipalities

We traditionally consider cities and municipalities to be cradles of democracy and connect them with deliberations on the further development of democratic theory and political practice.

Local Level as an Arena for Change

We therefore argue that the local level is a suitable arena and laboratory for both changes of institutional settings within the traditional model of representative democracy, and the structural changes, which concern changing relations between local representatives and citizens.