@inbook{c6fa1fe57c784da698f1b1d5de07b954,
title = "Redefining Local Self-Government: Finnish Municipalities seeking their Essence",
abstract = "Finnish municipalities have strived to manage an extensive number of statutory tasks with insufficient financial resources. Local government reforms have followed the politics of bigger scales, which is feared to cause problems in implementing the principles of locality and subsidiarity. This chapter aims to discuss what is happening to local self-government in Finland in the context of recent reforms. We reflect on the municipalities{\textquoteright} struggle with the concept of local self-governance and the contents of the European Charter of local self-government. The chapter builds on knowledge based on the previous literature and recent studies. Strengthening local autonomy and supporting municipalities{\textquoteright} financial resources would require loosening regulation at the central government level, while at the local level municipalities need to seek their essence and reinvent themselves.",
keywords = "local self-government, Finland, local government, reform",
author = "Hanna Vakkala and Lotta-Maria Sinervo and Anni J{\"a}ntti",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.1007/978-3-030-56059-1",
language = "English",
isbn = "978-3-030-56058-4",
series = "Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance",
publisher = "Palgrave Macmillan",
pages = "43--54",
editor = "Tomas Bergstr{\"o}m and {Franzke }, Jochen and Sabine Kuhlmann and Ellen Wayenberg",
booktitle = "The Future of Local Self-Government",
address = "United States",
}