Henry Bäck, Annick Magnier and Hubert Heinelt There are various images of the political leader in Europe s cities and towns. There is the time-honoured ceremonial mayor watching over the keys of the city. But there also is the political boss ruthlessly governing his/her `subjects . We might also offer the streamlined university educated professional or the - ecutive committee leader promoted to a primus inter pares after long service in a political party. With this book we aim to describe and analyse the selection, daily life, networks and values of local top political leaders in seventeen European co- tries. The empirical basis for the investigation into town halls across Europe is a survey conducted mainly in 2003 and 2004 with mayors and corresponding top local political leaders. The data covering responses from more than 2, 700 lead- 1 ers constitute a unique and rich material allowing descriptions and analyses pursuing a number of lines of inquiry.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Typologies of Local Government Systems. - `From the Few are Chosen the Few. . . On the Social Background of European Mayors. - The Mayor s Political Career. - Gendered Roads to Mayorship in Different Welfare States. - Does Recruitment Matter? Selecting Path and Role Definition. - Mayors, Citizens and Local Democracy. - Aspects of Leadership Styles: An Interaction of Context and Personalities. - Urban Systems as Growth Machines? Mayors Governing Networks against Global Indeterminacy. - Mayors in Vertical Power Relations. - Divided Loyalties? Mayors between Party Representation and Local Community Interests. - Duo or Duel? The Relations between Mayors and Councils in Democratic Local Government. - Mayors and Local Administrators: A Puzzling Relationship. - Political Complexity or Managerial Simplicity? Mayoral Norms of Organisational Leadership. - European Mayors and Administrative Reforms. - Strong Mayors? On Direct Election and Political Entrepreneurship.
