The contested politics of de-privatisation and the shifting terrain of the local state: the case of the Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany

The trend towards de-privatisation has reshaped the role of local governments and their delivery of public services across the world. Local de-privatisation encompasses the twin processes of remunicipalisation, whereby towns, cities, and rural districts take previously privatised services and infrastructure back into public ownership, and municipalisation, a process of setting up new public provision. While global in scope, de-privatisation is particularly pronounced in Germany, prompting debates about the progressive potential of public ownership as an alternative (urban) politics beyond neoliberalism. This paper explores de-privatisation in rural Germany, and critically investigates how the shifting terrain of the local state in the Ilm-Kreis has led to the de-privatisation of two key sectors: waste and bus transportation (and vice versa). The paper illustrates how the two cases unfolded, highlighting the variegated actors and agencies, the complex contexts, and the dynamic and contested politics of de-privatisation in the Ilm-Kreis.