Sociologists studying the renewal of local government in post-communist Central European countries have formulated a hypothesis that local politics are becoming increasingly politicised. Political scientists focusing on local coalitions have provided a tool for examining this politicisation. This article is based on a secondary analysis of research to date on local political elites and compares their outcomes with the conclusions of the author's recent study of a panel of municipalities that was previously studied by Czech researchers in the early 1990s.The structure of local representation, the attitudes of municipal representatives, and the structure of local coalitions have not fulfilled the expected increased politicisation. The most important determinant is still the size of a municipality. Nevertheless, its influence can be modified by other factors, for example, institutional variables. Detailed observations on the origins of local coalitions and how they change indicate the scope and limits of this method for analysing the behaviour of local political elites.
An increasing number of surveys are employed in the field of public administration. This begs the question, what is the quality of this form of research? In this article two different surveys are presented and compared. First, a client satisfaction survey implemented at twelve municipal offices is examined. Second, there is an exploration of an international comparative research project that studies municipal representatives (MAELG). An examination of the research methodologies employed in both of these two surveys reveals the problems inherent to this type of inquiry. Strategies for overcoming these obstacles in future research are described. This study argues that examination of methodological issues can lead to important substantive insights; in this case it is the link between public administration and democracy., Dan Ryšavý., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy