Kommunalpolitik und -parlamente in Bayern

This study researches the development of Bavarian local government between 2002 and 2014 and offers a broad range of basic and advanced knowledge on this field. Its main focus is the change in the local election system in 2010: What impact has the new method of allocating parliamentary seats had on the structure of local parliaments, on their ability to function and on local decision-making processes? Besides an extensive structural analysis of the local election and party system, this study also provides a broad empirical survey, in which 262 members of local governments from the 74 largest local authority districts in Bavaria were interviewed. Its key findings are that the fragmentation of Bavarian local parliaments is rising continuously, also as a result of the change to the electoral system. The consequences of this development are noticeable in many local authorities and are causing increasing difficulties for local governments in larger cities especially.