Civil participation on the local level in Central and Eastern Europe

There is no real local self-government without citizen participation. Enormous democratic potential exists where citizens take direct and continuous actions to influence the development of their communities. The article reveals a number of key insights for local citizen participation in Central and Eastern Europe today. The author identifies ten problem areas which present challenges and opportunities for engaging citizens in local democracy and thus call for improvements. They are a common dilemma for all young immature democracies.