The institutionalization of democracy and the role of local governments in this process (the sample of Azerbaijan)

The purpose of this study is to analyze the process of the institutionalization of democracy and the role of local governments in this process. The institutionalization of democracy is made possible through the combination of many institutional, cultural and socio-economic elements. The local governments can help a great deal with the institutional, cultural, and socio-economic dimensions of democracy in the process. This study is consisted of three main chapters. In the first chapter, the main framework of the institutionalization of democracy and the environment where it develops is analyzed. In the second chapter, the relationship between the local government and democracy has been studied along with the local governments contribution to democracy. The third chapter deals with the institutionalization of democracy in Azerbaijan and the role of the local governments. As a result, although democracy has gained a universal level of perfection as an ideal, new types such as ?hybrid? or ?mixed? regimes emerge especially in the developing countries when applied as a political system. Although all of the formal institutions of democracy have been established in Azerbaijan, it is obvious that they cannot act in accordance with what they were meant for up to the mark. The very first reasons of this are that a certain democratic political culture has not been established yet, and the weakness of the political institutionalization still prevails. Moreover, the local governmental institutions, have not completed their establishment process, they can neither help with the welfare of the country, nor with the democracy