In parts of the world, a relatively strong system of democratic local self­government has been a feature of the political system since the late early 20th century, though full universal suffrage often took many years of struggle to achieve. Elsewhere, however, systems of government were often highly centralized, with little local autonomy even for large conurbations. But over the last 65 years, decentralisation policies have become the norm, even if the systems of democracy and local self­government vary. The trend has indeed been global, and covers countries with widely different Grass Domestic Product (GDPs). Today, in consequence, almost all Latin American and African countries, and many Asian countries, have systems of elected local government, and the new post­ 1989 democracies of central and eastern Europe all shaped systems of local democracy. The Council of Europe’s adoption in 1986 of the European Charter of Local Self­Government gave formal international expression to this trend for the first time, and many of the Charter’s principles are also included in the Guidelines on Decentralisation and Strengthening of Local Authorities. 

Keywards: Democracy; Decentralisation; Principles; Suffrage; Strength.