The first chapter of the book outlines the development of the research agenda of the field of local government studies ; while community power studies were central topics from the 1930s and into the 1950s and 60s, policy-oriented research became increasingly popular in the 1970s. Institutional issues have always been important concerns to the scholars in this field. The next chapter raises a question of increasing relevance in a gloablising world: Will local government have any meaningful role in such a world? Various answers, mostly in the affirmative, are suggested. Local government studies face specific methodological challenges; these are reviewed in a separate chapter; the role of local government studies as a laboratory for the social sciences is highlighted. The book also provides a global overview of the infra-structure of research in the field (research institutes and groups, data bases, etc). Finally, ideas regarding a research agenda for the future are presented and a Laswellian platform for collaborative and comparative research is elaborated.