This research was initiated with the aim of describing, analyzing and interpreting the political and economic changes in municipalities (and local communities) in BiH that occurred after the introduction of the function of mayor in the local self-government system and to suggest possible improvements based on the results obtained.

The report with the research results is organized and presented in three chapters. The first, entitled “Changes in the legal and political treatment of municipalities and local self-government”, describes historical and current trends in the development of local self-government in Europe and in BiH; more attention is paid to the situation in BiH, which, after all, is the central subject of the research. The second chapter, “Local systems of government”, deals with the relationship between local and state authorities, and with the different systems of government that are being established at the local level, among which the parliamentary and presidential systems are dominant today; this chapter also has a special section dedicated to the reform of local executive authorities that has been initiated in all European countries in recent decades. The third, most extensive, chapter – “The influence of mayors on local democracy, local economic development and the performance of municipal competences” – is entirely dedicated to BiH and deals with the manifestation of the mayor’s influence on various aspects of local self-government.

This research was conducted as part of the project “The Function of the Mayor in the System of Local Self-Government in BiH” which is being implemented by the Centers of Civil Initiatives with the support of the Open Society Fund BiH and the Municipal Development Program in BiH, and whose goal is to increase the level of efficiency of the functioning of local self-governments by reducing the grounds for non-cooperation between councilors and mayors – directly elected by citizens.


[Bosnian]

Načelnik i lokalna samouprava – liderstvo, demokratija, razvoj

Ovo istraživanje je pokrenuto s ciljem da se opišu, analiziraju i interpretiraju političke i ekonomske promjene u opštinama (i lokalnim zajednicama) u BiH do kojih je došlo poslije uvođenja funkcije načelnika u sistem lokalne samouprave i da se na osnovu dobijenih rezultata sugerišu moguća poboljšanja.

Izvještaj s rezultatima istraživanja organizovan je i izložen u tri poglavlja. U prvom, naslovljenom “Promjena pravno-političkog tretmana opštine i lokalne samouprave”, opisani su istorijski i aktuelni trendovi u razvoju lokalne samouprave u Evropi i u BiH; više pažnje posvećeno je prilikama u BiH što, uostalom, i jeste centralni predmet istraživanja. Drugo poglavlje, “Lokalni sistemi vlasti”, bavi se odnosom lokalne i državne vlasti, te različitim sistemima vlasti koji se uspostavljaju na lokalnom nivou među kojima su danas dominantni parlamentarni i predsjednički sistem; ovo poglavlje ima i poseban odsjek posvećen reformi lokalne izvršne vlasti koja je posljednjih decenija pokrenuta u svim zemljama Evrope. Treće, najobimnije, poglavlje – “Uticaj načelnika na lokalnu demokratiju, na lokalni ekonomski razvoj i na obavljanje opštinskih nadležnosti” – u potpunosti je posvećeno BiH i bavi se ispoljavanjem načelnikovog uticaja na razne aspekte lokalne samouprave.

Ovo je istraživanje realizovano u sklopu projekta „Funkcija načelnika opštine u sistemu lokalne samouprave u BiH“ koji Centri civilnih inicijativa realizuju uz podršku Fonda otvoreno društvo BiH i Programa razvoja opština u BiH, a čiji je cilj podizanje nivoa efikasnosti funkcionisanja lokalnih samouprava redukovanjem osnova za nesaradnju odbornika i načelnika – direktno biranih od strane građana.