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408 THE ISA HANDBOOK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY

selecting out those of its members who do relationships that sustain local interests. The
not survive long and by providing advantages regional, national, and global each have
in reproduction to those who do. This is one interests in enhancing their control of the
version of ecology as conflict and adaptation – local in order to access local resources
a mechanistic one of ‘mindless’ learning. through forced appropriation or purchase.
Another, of course, is conscious adaptation This situation comprises a set of competitive
to cope better with changes in the niche. games among these levels of interests. The
Globalization contributes to learning and engagement in this form of conflict should
adaptation to differences and modes of com- stimulate local politics once open democratic
munication, accelerating the capacities of practices are allowed.
localities to become part of a global economy
and institutions.

LOCAL-GLOBAL RELATIONS AND
THEIR IMPACT ON LOCAL DEMOCRACY
Dialectics: levels and rates
The dialectics of development derive from the This analysis will conclude with a look at
fact that higher levels of aggregation have one of the greatest penetrations of the global
more variety and diversity than lower levels ideology of democracy into the values and
and that the greater the variety, the more likely practices of local political leaders – the
new variety will be generated. Developmental beginning of the ‘global democratic revolu-
processes generate structures of conflict in tion’ of the 1990s and carrying on during the
the processes of local adaptations to global- opening years of the twenty-first century.
ization, often creating volatility in local The Democracy and Local Governance
markets and politics. As national markets Research Program began in 1990 in order
become globalized, volatility increases in the to examine these processes. It is one of the
short run but they become more stable over large cross-national, comparative research
time as the production and integration of new projects started after the end of the Cold War,
variety spreads. Conflicts arise from the directed to examining the impact of a mas-
introduction of novelty that divides the local- sive change in world order on local gover-
ities, and causes scissions in groups and nance and democracy (Teune, 2003, 2006).
individuals within them, between those that The general hypothesis is that globalization
have and do not have access to the new and provides an impetus to local democratic
‘global’. Thus, at least the perceptions of institutions, values, and practices. These
local conflicts that matter should have would be linked to pressures on the local
increased at the local levels that have toward openness to higher level systems:
recently opened to the global. regional, national, and global. The impact
would depend in part on the democratization
processes at national governmental level and,
of course, on the local differences in levels
Competitive games
of development and the position of local
Conflicts between the local and the global governments in terms of the ease of entry of
parallel those much studied between the local global associations.
and the national. One way of looking at The research is built on national samples
locally organized efforts to deal with the of local political units ranging in population
global is to treat them as an ecology of games from about 25,000 to 250,000, cities and in
(Long, 1958). Leadership, collective action, some cases counties having cities as their
and local interests come into play. The logic center, that are of significance for political
of local collective action is to maintain participation and for the delivery of social