Local self-government outlines the right and the ability of local authorities, within the limits of the law, to regulate and manage a substantial share of public affairs. In a local democracy this right is 
conferred to councils or assemblies composed of members freely elected by secret ballot and directly accountable to their own local constituency. This adheres to the principle of subsidiarity, which ensures that problems are addressed by those institutions and civil society groups that are most competent and closest to citizens.

In 2007, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia adopted the first Strategy for Cooperation of the Government with the Civil Society and the Action Plan 2007-2011. There, the Government emphasized the importance of the civil society in general, thereby setting the ground for its cooperation with CSOs and took a systematic approach in strengthening the basic conditions for a faster and more efficient development of this sector. The Strategy refers to the cooperation with associations and foundations, as part of the wider civil society sector, with the aim of ensuring inclusive 
process and engagement of the civil society in policy making processes. In the period following the adoption of the Strategy, a number of activities were undertaken, each with the aim of implementing the goals and measures and strengthening the sector. Following the example of that Strategy, a number of other strategies and documents were adopted, through which institutions on both a national and local level expressed their commitments to develop certain areas important for the work of the civil society and to include CSOs in inter-sectorial initiatives.

The main goal of the study is to inspect the mechanisms for cross-sectoral cooperation and dialogic mechanisms at the local level and on that basis to make a series of recommendations for further development of the methodology and transparent system of financial and non-financial support for CSOs, at the local level. Effective, functional and sustainable mechanisms for cooperation are a key precondition for creating an enabling environment for active participation of civil society and civic activism at the local level. These principles, of course, include basic principles: respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, respect for basic democratic principles, political engagement, clear procedures, and open space for dialogue and encouragement of conditions for an energetic, pluralistic and sustainable civil society.

This publication is prepared for the needs of the Institute for Human Rights "Ludwig Boltzmann" - BIM-FV, Skopje, within the project "Social Inclusion and Human Rights in Macedonia". The project aims to address the human rights-based approach to poverty reduction and social exclusion at the national and local levels, which includes identifying vulnerable groups, their direct involvement in decision-making processes that will affect their lives, such as and establishing a system for monitoring and accountability of holders of liabilities. The subject of this analysis was determining the situation, ie the needs in terms of social inclusion at the local level in the following six municipalities: Stip, Prilep, Kicevo, Saraj, Caska and Radovish.
 

The spectacular advance of local and regional democracy was the main innovation of 20th century democracy. The recognition of local democracy by the Council of Europe member states led to the elaboration of the European Charter of Local Self-Government – the first internationally binding treaty that guarantees the rights of communities and their elected authorities. This text, which affirms the role of communities as the first level for practising democracy, has become the benchmark international treaty in this area.

This Guide is intended to respond to an increasing demand from UNDP Country Offices and a wide range of national stakeholders for guidance on the multiplicity of tools and methods that are being used to measure, assess and monitor governance at the local level. The Guide uses the term ‘local governance’ to cover the range of governance issues that exist at the local level, including decentralisation of policies and processes, the roles and inter-relationships of different actors and institutions, local democracy and local government performance.

Local government in Europe has seen significant changes over the past two decades. In spite of the several differences between the European countries in terms of local autonomy, local government has become a key element in their political systems mainly for two reasons. Firstly, local government organisations are in charge of the delivery of some services such as education, welfare and urban planning. Secondly, the principles and practice of democracy are learnt, developed and reinforced most effectively in the context of local politics, where participation is relatively easy and the rewards more immediate.

This document addresses the main issues of what is local democracy, how local self-government emphasizes the right and ability of local authorities, as well as the basic principles of local self-government. In this document you will also find answers about local development and how local democracy can be promoted in public.

In the discussions about the current crisis of the European Union caused by “NOs” to the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands, one sometimes forgets that all in all the construction of the European Union is more than a success story! Europe is currently experiencing an unprecedented period of stability and peace. 60 years after the end of the Second World War, 27 European countries are constructing their common future based on the values of peace, democracy and human rights. The project “Cities acting for Peace and Democracy in Europe” therefore intended to bring local authorities, NGOs and young people together to evaluate and debate their role in the construction of a peaceful and democratic Europe.

An influential argument used to justify local government is the claim that it is more efficient than a centralised system (see, for example,Sharpe, 1970). This justification for traditional patterns of local government in Britain has been challenged by central government since 1979, and by the rise of 'new right' thinking with its emphasis on market solutions to problems of public service management. Put simply, the argument has been that public services will only be efficient if they are subject to market pressures, which can be achieved by making citizens into consumers with choice, able to take their business from one provider to another. It is not then necessary for government to be local, because the centre can set standards for a disaggregated system of market-based administration, and efficiency will be ensured by the normal market processes of exit and choice, as well as inspection and regulation. 

One of the goals of United Cities and Local Governments since its creation in 2004 has been to create a Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization “in order to analyze on a regular basis the advances and possible reverses to local democracy and decentralization around the world, to anticipate potential changes and to analyze the obstacles faced and the solutions required to overcome them” (UCLG Executive Bureau, June 2005).

As democracy is not an event but a complex and continuous process, it is essential that its inception and development are properly managed and nurtured. It is in this regard that this handbook will be a very useful tool in the process of promoting and developing democracy at the local level. It will be an essential reference document for all those who are involved in the political and administrative processes of democratization. It will enhance people’s capacity to manage diversity and to design appropriate systems to suit various levels and degrees of democratization.

The Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI), in partnership with the Tocqueville Research Center (T–RC) in Budapest, has been conducting a multi-year project entitled ‘Indicators of Local Democratic Governance’ (hereafter:‘Indicators’). The project aims to help decision-makers and researchers assess and explain the state of local democracy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. While there are numerous international research initiatives examining the condition of democracy on a national level, only a limited number of comparative inquiries have been launched at the subnational level. The ‘Indicators’ project is a modest but perhaps unique enterprise, having three broad aims: (a) the generation of original survey data and collection of other relevant statistical data; (b) regular reporting on the state of local democracy in Central and Eastern Europe; and (c) the dissemination of results and standardized datasets to inform developmental and policy reform initiatives.

The aim of this article is to assess the implications of different concepts of local democracy for political leadership. We take democracy as the idea to promote a common good under circumstances where there is no strong pre-existing agreement on what this common good is, what it entails and how it can be promoted – with the significant qualification that this promotion is not imposed on society by force or manipulation, but is subject to public justification (Barber, 1984). Democracy is thus intimately linked with the question of what is ‘good’ for the members of a political community, and considering local democracy implies that local government, like governments at upper levels, has a process of collective self-determination as its normative core.

Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI), as one of the programs of the Open Society Institute (OSI), is an international development and grant-giving organization dedicated to the support of good governance in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Newly Independent States (NIS). LGI seeks to fulfill its mission through the initiation of research and support of development and operational activities in the fields of decentralization, public policy formation and the reform of public administration.

The role of the citizen is fundamental for the continual improvement of the performance of democratic institutions, and, not least, for the very survival of democracy. In recent years, we have seen numerous examples of people-led movements across all continents. In the vast majority of cases, citizens are not protesting against democracy, but rather they are demanding more democracy and higher quality democracy.

Локалната самоуправа е темел на модерната демократија. Не случајно се вели дека нема демократски политички систем без развиена локална самоуправа и локална демократија, оти демократијата извира од локусот во кој граѓаните живеат, работат, комуницираат, ги задоволуваат основните лични и колективни интереси и потреби, директно или преку локалните органи, како најблиски до нив.