Local Government Reorganization and the Development of the Welfare State

This article attempts to analyze the reorganization of local government, perceiving it as a general phenomenon in the modern state. While occurring in most developed societies, the reforms at the sub-national level do not seem to have followed a common pattern; they have been introduced and combined in different ways. Accordingly, two main questions have to be raised. Why have so many developed societies gone through some kind of reorganization? And why has the reorganization taken place at different stages and in different forms? A general, but somewhat unsatisfactory answer is that this trend reflects the expansion of the public sector. A more specific answer requires a differentiation between (a) various categories of reform, (b) different stages in the development of the welfare state and (c) varying ideological perspectives. After an elaboration of these analytical tools, the article illustrates such a structural approach through a description of the reorganization process in Norway and Sweden.