Public Perception of Local Governments

Public Perception of Local Governments concentrates on changes in public attitudes towards local governments, and on differences in approaches towards various components of the respective municipal systems. As local governments become increasingly important in citizens' everyday lives, political institutions and public actors who can demonstrate greater sensitivity towards public opinion are vital for the success of future reforms. The hidden message of this work is that without regular and systematic analysis of public opinion, viable local government policies will become even more difficult to design and implement in the future. The book comprises research on this issue in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Public Perception of Local Governments seeks to answer three basic questions: (1) What is the public's opinion on the newly created local governments? (2) How did general public opinion influenced the various decentralization reforms of the past decade? (3) What are the typical forms of communication with the general public at the local level?