ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on two waves of change, which also represent two types of change. The single largest and most important change in the history of Hungarian local administration happened in 1990, when the communist system was abolished at the local level and the principle of democratic centralism was replaced with the values of decentralization, local democracy and autonomy. The second set of changes occurred after the inception of the new local government system. Such piecemeal reforms characterize a democratic system on the way to full institutionalization. The chapter first presents the history of local governments in Hungary. It then reviews the legal aspect of local–centre relationships (function and discretion) and the forms of political access of local governments to central policy making. The concluding section attempts to emphasize some important lessons to be learned from the case of Hungary.
