Lokalna i regionalna samouprava u demokratskoj teoriji
Local And Regional Self-Government In A Democratic Theory

Summary/Abstract: This paper points to a great role the local self-government played in the development of the so-called civilian society and democracy and what its place in the democratic theory is, among the ideas developed in the reformation and in the processes of limiting and overgrowing political absolutism by means of revolutions, uprisings for liberation of people. It is shown that the sense of theories on "separation of power" was establishment of the checks and balance among the various branches and levels (local, regional, state). As the so-called horizontal separation of power was taken as a condition to guarantee freedoms and a hindrance to absolutism, so the local self-government in theory can be observed as an important element of the vertical separation of power serving the same purpose. The importance of the relations, even conflicts, political interests and political wills of parts and wholes were pointed out by the democratic thought. Among the basic differences between the democratic and despotic and authoritarian systems on the other hand, also included are the differences in relations of parts and the whole, narrower communities and the authorities in them towards the authorities of the wider communities. To estimate the character of the government and self-government system, the nature and the scope of the circle of competencies and its character (original or transferred) are taken, whether and how much the separation of competences is based upon the constitution and how much the self-government is implemented, that is, participation of the population and other subjects (of corporate type) in administering or electing rulers. An entire scale of possible relations from the mere deconcentrating or detachment of affairs up to confederalism is given and what place in that scale of forms belongs to the local and regional self-government; also pointed out are the differences between the Anglo-Saxon and the continental European system. A lot depends upon the fact whether the basic principle-goal is administrative efficiency or meeting the population needs (everyday life quality improvement). Supported are the ideas that a truly democratic power is essentially federal and polyarchic in its character, which means that each must have some circle of competences stipulated under the constitution and on the rule of law principle which cannot be arbitrarily changed by some higher authorities. This paper points to great social, technological and political (state strengthening) changes that changed the character and position of the local communities in the categories given by the great European sociologists, as well as to the researches which dealt with stipulating the character of relations and decision making in the local communities, atomizing the society and manipulating the mass society within which lives a lonely crowd of people. A conclusion is drawn from this in favour of smaller communes within which everyday questions are resolved and larger uni

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