Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of Figures and Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- 1 From Local Government to Local Governance -- The central ideas of the book -- Normative arguments -- The comparative approach -- What is Western Europe? -- The elements of Western European local governments -- Defining governance and identifying its causes -- Complementary perspectives -- Organization of the book -- 2 Local Government Systems in Western Europe -- The comparative study of local government systems -- The Page and Goldsmith framework -- The contrast between northern and southern local government systems -- Conclusion -- 3 Local Regimes in Western Europe -- Defining regimes -- Regimes in Western Europe? -- The revival of the city -- The academic disputation -- Regimes and governance -- Comparative research -- Conclusion -- 4 The Europeanization of Sub-national Governance -- The international dimension to local politics -- The European Union -- The development of the EU -- Perspectives on Europeanization -- The comparative context -- The Europeanization of policies and organizations -- European programme partnerships -- Lobbying the EU -- The future -- Conclusion -- 5 Privatization and the New Public Management -- Management structures in Western European local governments -- The New Public Management -- Management changes at the sub-national level -- Conclusion -- 6 Institutional Formation and Regionalism -- Institutions and governance -- Meso or regional government? -- 'Top-down' regionalization -- 'Bottom-up' factors -- The progress and performance of regional governments -- Conclusion -- 7 Leadership and the Local Executive -- Pressures for reform -- Local government leadership -- The move to governance -- Leadership change -- Institutional change -- Conclusion -- 8 Renewing Local Democracy.

The normative dimension to governance -- Democratic renewal and participation -- Western European experiences -- Conclusion -- 9 Conclusions -- From local government to local governance -- Caveats and limitations -- The comparative experience of governance -- References -- Index.