New Developments in Local Democracy

Accepted / prihvaćeno: 17. 4. 2015. The paper analyses traditional and new forms of citizen participation at the local level in comparative perspective, but with special focus on the Croatian situation. The tra-ditional forms of citizen participation are referendum, citi-zens ’ initiative, deliberative assemblies, sub-municipal gov-ernance, and occasional consultative meetings. The main new forms are introduction of the direct election of mayors and recall referendum, strengthening the role of local may-ors, and independent actors in local politics. Five modes of fostering local democracy in Croatia are analysed: minori-* Professor Ivan Koprić, Full Professor and Head of the Chair of Administrative Sci