The Program on Governance and Local Development at Gothenburg Bureaucrat-Local Politician Linkages and Hierarchical Local Governance in Emerging Democracies: A Case Study of Tunisia Salih Yasun Working Paper No. 30 2020 The Program on Governance and Local Development Front Cover: Tunis, Tunisia (Jamillatrach, Unsplash) Bureaucrat-Local Politician Linkages and Hierarchical Local Governance in Emerging Democracies: A Case Study of Tunisia GLD Working Paper: April 2020 Salih Yasun Indiana University
[email protected] Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the Ostrom Workshop, Islamic Studies Program at Indiana University, ASMEA (Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa) and Institute of Humane Studies for providing financial support to carry out the fieldwork. The author also would like to thank GLD Editors, Jack Bielasiak, Tim Hellwig, Mike McGinnis, Francesco Cavatorta, Gustavo Torrens, Lauren MacLean, Ore Koren, Lindsay Beinstead, Paul Legunes, Mike Touchton, Ruth Carlitz, Huda Mzioudet, Anthony DeMatte, participants at the POMEPS Virtual Workshop and at the Ostrom Workshop Research Series for providing feedback. Finally, the author thanks Al-Bawsala Baladia Program coordinator Bilel Manai and other team members, Abdelaziz Bouslah and ADL Program for all their help and all the individuals who volunteered to participate in this study. Abstract Despite implementing comprehensive decentralization laws, emerging democracies often achieve limited success in improving the inclusiveness of local governance. A potential factor limiting the inclusiveness is the lack of cooperation. What factors determine the inclination of mayors to cooperate, and what are their implications for transparency? I answer these questions through conducting a case study of Tunisia, where mass resignations paralyze the local governance following the implementation of the Code of Local Collectives in 2018.