Seminar - Local Government in Comparative Perspective with a focus on Germany and Poland

The seminar, organised as part of the as part of the research project “Local Government and the Changing Urban-Rural Interplay” (LoGov project), was attended by project staff, masters students and doctoral candidates. There were two presentations, one on Germany by Lisa Hagen and the other by Dr Andżelika Mirska on Poland. Both presentations aimed to show the status, powers and functioning of local governments in Germany, Poland and South Africa. On a local level, despite the enormous differences between the political and administrative systems of Germany, Poland and South Africa, several commonalities were discovered. The foundation of local government in the constitution, the relevance of democratisation and decentralisation, and the challenges connected with the expansion of municipal responsibilities were noted as some of the most significant similarities.