1.19. Sociology of local society and changing forms of local governance in a globalized world

A further group of theories and empirical sociological studies of reference (Bagnasco, 2003; Trigilia, 2005; Le Gales, 2005) has stressed the capacity of local societies and economies to manage the challenges coming from the globalized knowledge based economy and its political consequences. Local societies are actively experimenting with new models of local governance through the increasingly inclusion of social partners and civil society in the policy making, stressing the cooperation between public and private sectors/actors around the building of a common view/project on the future of their communities (local development pacts, strategic urban planning, Agenda 21, etc.). This is a possible perspective on the rebuilding of social and political relationships from below, in the specific meaning of local/regional communities integrating public and private actors, answering to the trend of growing fragmentation and dis-embbeding of social relationships implied in the actual form of globalization.







References:

Bagnasco, A. (2003). Società fuori squadra. Come cambia l’organizzazione sociale. Bologna: Mulino.

Le Galès, P. (2005). Le città europee. Società urbane, globalizzazione, governo locale. Bologna: Mulino.

Trigilia, C. (2005). Sviluppo locale. Bari: Laterza.

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