Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 26th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview I. Working Group on Local Government Author(s) Lucyna Rajca Jan Kochanowski University 25-369 Kielce Poland Title Local Government Reforms in Poland and Hungary from a Comparative Perspective. Convergent and Divergent Developmets File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Lucyna Rajca Abstract Research Question: Up till recently, due to the characteristics of self-governmental systems, Poland and Hungary have been classified as “decentralization champions” in the Central and Eastern European countries (P. Swianiewicz). After the conservative government of Victor Orbán had come to power, the situation changed considerably. The earlier neo-liberal philosophy was rejected, and there was a shift towards centralization, nationalization and neo-Weberian state. Local governments have undergone major modifications. In Poland, after the conservative party Law and Justice (led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski) had taken power in 2015, Hungarian politics was often referred to in the speeches of the ruling party politicians. Among other things, the party is planning to introduce changes to the Constitution and the local electoral law. Local governments have been divested of some tasks and powers. There have been signs of strengthening the central control over the distribution of European funds by local governments and regular announcements of changes in territorial division. However, no significant changes have been made to the system of local self-government. The aim of the article is to analyze and explain the reforms of local government in Poland and Hungary and to answer the question of whether and to what extent the changes introduced in have been inspired by Orbán policy. What is the justification for the reforms (changes) and what are their results (financial, functional, quality, democracy)? To what extent and to what degree are the self-government systems of both countries different¬¬? Methodological approach: Comparative analysis covered the following reforms: decentralization, regionalization, territorial reform, change in electoral system, NPM-inspired reforms, the shift from a system of local government to a system of local governance; modernizing local–level administration and procedures, recent recentralization, remunicipalization and repurchase of assets. A neo-institutional approach has been adopted to explain local government reforms. The different approaches of neo-institutionalism (actor-centred, sociological , historical) offer the opportunity to analyze local government systems and reforms relating to their developmental formation factors and their impact mechanism. The study was based on available statistical data, legal regulations, documents and the literature.
