Charting a New Terrain: Comparative Local Administration

Very recently, increasing interest has been shown in cross-cultural and cross-national examination of local administration. While studies of national administration have continued to flourish, much attention has also been focused on cities, towns, regions, field units, and other subnational areas. Administrative as well as economic, sociological, and political perspectives are evidenced in publications, conferences, meetings, technical co-operation work, and even graduate-level courses. The author explores the reasoning employed in developing one such graduate course and examines in general the emerging interest in comparative local administration.