Community governance and democracy

This article reviews key issues of governance and democracy and asks what current theory and evidence have to teach us about how local governance should be changed in order to make it more conducive to human emancipation. A distinction is drawn between governance and metagovernance, and the potential is assessed for the democratisation of both at community level. Particular attention is paid to the 'persistence of oligarchy' and its manifestations at local level. The article concludes with suggestions on how to build countervailing power in order to achieve the democratisation that is deemed to be desirable.