This book contends that the quest to secure community self-rule represents a central human value - the belief in a basic and fundamental right to local autonomy. The universal nature of this value suggests that a right to local control should be accepted and embraced as an international human right. Perspectives from different academic fields of study are woven together to show how rural villagers, residents of large cities, environmental defenders and ‘home rule’ proponents have struggled to oppose the forces of globalization and of nation-state predominance.