Patterns of Empire comprehensively examines the two most powerful empires in modern history: the United States and Britain. Challenging the popular theory that the American empire is unique, Patterns of Empire shows how the policies, practices, forms and historical dynamics of the American empire repeat those of the British, leading up to the present climate of economic decline, treacherous intervention in the Middle East and overextended imperial confidence. A critical exercise in revisionist history and comparative social science, this book also offers a challenging theory of empire that recognizes the agency of non-Western peoples, the impact of global fields and the limits of imperial power.

Patterns of Empire: The British and American Empires, 1688 to the Present

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Decentralisation in Madhya Pradesh, India: from Panchayati Raj to Gram Swaraj (1995 to 2001)

Interaction between water related informal processes and water management: the example of Hyderabad, India

Politics of decentralization in India: An analysis of recent developments 1

Local governments are usually established to achieve three broad objectives. The first objective has to do with the involvement of local citizens in the management of local affairs. The second objective deals with the promotion of both efficient and speedy delivery of basic needs of local citizens. The third objective is to provide a framework within which local resources, both human and material are effectively mobilized. Municipal Corporation is the top and highest form of urban- local   government as it   enjoys   comparatively more   powers   and autonomy in day today administration. Local Government can make an important contribution to public well being through the execution of government policies and the delivery of local public services.  The present paper is attempt to evaluate the financial performance of sample city municipal corporations for the period under the study. The study observed that  municipal entities need to be strengthened as local governments with ‛own’ sources of revenue, predictable formula-based transfers from state governments, and other transfers from the Government of India and state governments to help them discharge the larger responsibilities assigned to them by the 74th Constitutional Amendment. Sound fiscal health is imperative to ensuring the effective operation of local governments Municipal corporations and municipalities raise their own resources from a variety of sources, as provided for in the respective municipal laws. Their own revenue sources are income from (i) taxes, (ii) fees and fines, and (iii) earning from municipal enterprises like land, tanks, markets, shops, etc. Besides these bodies receive grants from the State. Property tax on land and buildings is the most important source of income of most urban local bodies.

http://www.theinternationaljournal.org/ojs/index.php?journal=rjcbs&page=article&op=download&path%5B%5D=4399&path%5B%5D=pdf

Financial efficiency of selected City Municipal Corporations in Karnataka

The purposes of the seminar were: (a) to enable senior officers concerned with the improvement of local government in Asian countries to exchange information on methods of dealing with common problems and to gain knowledge of relevant experiences outside the region; (b) drawing upon available documentation and their own experiences, to prepare a document for regional use on ways by which the governments can make local authorities more effective instruments of economic and social development; and (c) to identify the studies and technical assistance actfrities that could be especially helpful to governments in this,field.

M. Pattabhiram

Papers

Local Government In India