Changing social identity : the introduction of local governance

Abstract

When in 1993 the Central Government of Malta decided to set up the local councils, it had to devolve some of its powers and responsibilities to the local councils. Due to this devolution of power, the local councils started to be considered as the representative of the local people with the Central Government. In fact, the local councils are considered by a lot of people as Local Governments. Thus, while the Central Government has the power to govern Malta as a whole, the local councils have the power to govern their particular locality. In a context of social change, local identity is of crucial importance. Thus, the local councils are more able to emphasise local identity since they are working from the core of the locality. Since, social change is a continuous process; people throughout the world might find social change as a threat to their local identity. In fact, due to social change people are now more than ever trying to emphasise their membership in a particular community and reaffirm their boundaries. In spite of social change, local identity is still of crucial importance and it will continue to play an important part in people's lives. In fact, nowadays there are certain local councils which are trying as much as possible to enhance local identity in spite of all the social changes.