Incomplete Greek Territorial Consolidation: From the First (1998) to the Second (2008–09) Wave of Reforms

Nikolaos-K. Hlepas

54 citations0/0 files storedLocal Government Studies

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Local Governance and Planning Local Government Finance and Decentralization Contemporary and Historical Greek Studies

Abstract

The modern Greek state has been consolidated through the imposition of centralism and the abandonment of the former autonomist tradition which characterised the kind of fragmented society that was typical of the many countries that experienced Ottoman rule. Like other Southern European states, Greece experienced periods of civil war, authoritarian state practices, and dictatorship, before the establishment of a stabilised Third Republic in 1974. By the beginning of the 1980s, an overwhelming majority believed that public administration would become friendlier to citizens if many responsibilities were delegated to the municipalities. Socialist governments (1981–1989) undertook several decentralisation reforms, but were hesitant to promote obligatory amalgamations. The need for efficiency was the main argument for the Capodistrias Plan of amalgamations (1997) that were intended to restructure the first tier and create new, stronger municipalities. The majority of public opinion and political personnel seemed to approve the option of territorial reforms. By 2007, former opponents of the reform, namely the conservative leaders, initiated a debate on a second wave of amalgamations, thus implicitly acknowledging the success of territorial reform or at least the positive dynamics of a transformation that had to be completed. Dominant reasons which motivated amalgamations during the 1990s were Europeanisation combined with efficiency prerogatives. Territorial consolidation responded, furthermore, to emerging needs for complying with new articulations of entrepreneurial and sectoral interests. Nowadays, re-scaling is obviously combined to managerialist approaches that demand the creation of fewer and bigger structures that are expected to be more efficient and less costly.

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2019Theories of the Policy Process 2007Typologies of Local Government Systems 2019The Network Approach 2013The European mayor - Political leaders in the changing context of local democracy

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