Local Self-Governance

The literal meaning of self-governance is governing oneself rather than being governed by others. Local self-governance thus connotes a process of collective discussions, collaborative learning and collaborative actions by the local community and its leadership on the basis of their collective knowledge. Here, citizens are not just subjects but also the actors and the decision-makers. The process of local self-governance includes interesting examples of action research approaches and methods.

Historically, many communities and societies have had experiences of practicing self-governance. Ancient literatures from India, China, Japan, Australia, northern America and Europe mention different forms of local self-governments. From Plato to Gandhi, many philosophers have eloquently explained the concepts in governance and local self-governance at different periods of time in history. Historical Indian literatures mention that local self-governments were popular in different republics in India around 600 BC. Gandhi, in fact, saw self-government of the village community, called the panchayat, as the basis of Indian democracy. Barangays in Philippines and communes in Italy are two examples of modern forms of local self-governments.