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Croatian and comparative public administration : a journal for theory and practice of public administration, Vol. 16 No. 4, 2016.

Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.31297/hkju.16.4.4

Farewell to Decentralisation: The Hungarian Story and its General Implications

Ilona Pálné Kovács orcid id orcid.org/0000-0003-2286-6326 ; Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs, Hungary
Ákos Bodor ; Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs, Hungary
István Finta ; Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs, Hungary
Zoltán Grünhut ; Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs, Hungary
Péter Kacziba ; Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs, Hungary
Gábor Zongor ; main secretary of the Hungarian National Association of Municipalities, Budapest, Hungary

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Abstract

The paper is based on a research project launched in 2012. The objective was to analyse, from a political science perspective, the main factors and circumstances of the process of territorial governance reform attempts before 2010, and the turning point after starting a strongly centralised model. The focus of the research was not so much on the objectives of the reforms, but rather on the context and the actors of the reform processes. It was presumed that the defeat of decentralisation could be explained by the weakness of the actors to preserve the formerly strong positions of local governments. The research hypothesised that, following the transition years, the gradually fading enthusiasm of parliamentary and party-political elites contributed to the failures of correctional reforms and
to the limitation of institutional guarantees for safeguarding the interests of local governments. Municipalities were gradually being confined to a subaltern role in the power structure, and in addition to the loss of a significant share of their competencies and resources, their support on behalf of the local communities has also declined.

Keywords

decentralisation; Hungary; local self-government; territorial reform

Hrčak ID:

173629

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/173629

Publication date:

13.12.2016.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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