| 1. | Changes in the status and functioning of local self-government in Slovakia over the last two decades, and their outcomes in terms of local self-government autonomy ** | After gaining independence, Slovakia implemented one fundamental decentralization reform in the period 2000-2005. Since then (i.e., during the following two decades) no other decentralization reform have been implemented in Slovakia. However, this does not mean that the status and functioning of local self-government have not been modified by numerous measures taken by the central government. Despite the fact that no one of these measures had either reform or conceptual character, it can be assumed that at least some of them fundamentally influenced the autonomy of local self-government in the country. The key research issue of this thesis is the evaluation of the shift in the autonomy of local self-government in Slovakia in the period from the above-mentioned decentralization reform (2000-2005) to the present. Special attention will be paid not only to individual measures, but also to the question who brought these measures and what intended or unintended consequences these measures have evoked. |
| 2. | Political relations between deputies (councillors) and mayors in two different local government systems ** | We witnessed the spread of direct election of mayors in Europe especially in the last three decades. In several countries, this change was associated with democratization as such, but there were also countries that approached it with the aim of strengthening the legitimacy of mayors, or bringing them closer to local residents. This innovation has led to separation of two major groups of local government systems, i.e. 1) systems with directly elected mayors, and 2) systems with indirectly elected mayors. Political relations between mayors and local deputies (councillors) are very diverse, and this diversity is linked, inter alia, to the status of mayor and the status of collective decision-making body. In this thesis, our attention will be paid to the diffusion of direct election of mayors in Europe, both expected and unexpected outcomes of this diffusion, and also the impacts on political relations between mayors and members of collective decision-making bodies. |
