ABSTRACT
The values of local government—autonomy, democracy, efficiency—are maintained through concrete political and administrative processes. In the post-communist environment, such processes might easily atrophy and thus lead local government into a series of vicious circles. The Local Democracy and Innovation Project captured the processes of institution-building on the local level during the time immediately following the fall of the communist regimes. The institutions of local government were expected to reflect the general political culture of the communities in which they are embedded. In terms of institution-building in the new post-communist environment, an important challenge for strategic leadership would be to assert the position of the newly elected bodies of local government in community affairs. The indicators of leadership dealt with political co-ordination and direction. Political co-ordination and direction seemed most of a problem in Poland and least so in Hungary and the Czech Republic.
