Municipal splits and hidden amalgamations in Hungary

Abstract

In 1990, a decentralized local government system was introduced in Hungary. One of the main issues of the system was fragmentation at local level. This paper examines the attempts made by the central government to deal with this issue in the last thirty years. First, the study analyses the municipal splits and maps the dynamics, the reasons, and the environmental and political factors affecting these secessions. Second, it examines the government’s attempts at reform to reduce the effects of fragmentation.

Keywords

• local government
• municipal split
• local reform
• hungary