To further ‘local democracy’ has turned into one of the most interesting concepts and policy tools in developing and democratizing countries the last decade. Considerable experience has been gained in different contexts, yet the field is anything but easy to navigate, neither for researchers nor for the policy community. The challenges for the next decade concerning local democracy and local governance are many and intricate. By bringing together prominent researchers working in various fields of local democracy, ICLD wishes to engage in the ongoing dialogue by bringing to the surface some of the most valuable experiences and constructive initiatives so far.
As the field of local democracy is complex and growing, and growing in significance, there is a need for both looking backwards, establishing the ‘state of the art’ on local democracy, local governance, decentralization, participation, as well as – from that standpoint - looking forward by identifying research challenges and policy options for the next decade.
Welcome to two intense and groundbreaking days of intellectual discussions in an exclusive grouping in a medieval setting!
