Mind Your Own Business!

Usually functioning in parallel to the proportional electoral system, community-level governments are rooted in mostly rural areas where traditional agricultural production is the norm. The legitimacy of community-level governments is based on trust and a higher sense of community responsibility and this study finds that they could well serve as advocates of community issues, messengers in elected local councils, providers of some community public services on behalf of local government, and managers of public administration matters. Recognizes the potential of community-level governments for new forms of representation and alternative accountability mechanisms away from the center of government. Compares the historical precedents of governance of rural communities, villages and small townships in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Poland, and Serbia, and how these traditions are reflected in present day structures. From the community-level the studies move to contrasting the current practice and the future of this valuable resource for bringing services and rights to rural communities. A publication of the Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative of the Open Society Institute, New-York-Budapest.