Foundations for Local Governance: Decentralization in Comparative Perspective

Description

Various forms of decentralization are recently pursued in the world, including developing countries. However, there has not been a coherent framework to access these intended outcomes generated by decentralization measures implemented in Asian and African countries. This book provides such a framework based on comparative analyses of different experiences of decentralization measures in six developing countries, where the policy rationale to “bring services closer to people” originated in different socio-political backgrounds. Although decentralization measures are potentially useful for attaining both political democratization and economic efficiency, what is often packaged under the umbrella of “decentralization” needs to be disaggregated analytically. Successful reforms need coherent approaches in which a range of stakeholders would become willing to share responsibilities and resources in order to achieve the ultimate outcome of poverty reduction in the developing countries. "Securing more effective, equitable and democratic local governance processes is a key challenge for the 21st century. This volume is a lucid and thought-provoking examination of decentralization in the global south which has clear relevance for all those who are concerned with local democracy and governance world wide." Bob Evans, Director, Sustainable Cities Research Institute Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK "Essential reading for students of governance. The book's actor framework permits detailed analyses of the case study countries and reveals the dangers of prescribing decentralization as a quick fix to improve service delivery and local democracy." David Hulme, Director, Chronic Poverty Research Centre University of Manchester, UK Front Matter....Pages I-X Decentralization and Local Governance: Introduction and Overview....Pages 1-24 Indonesia towards Decentralization and Democracy....Pages 25-46 Entangled Democracy, Decentralization and Lifeworld in Flores under Global Trends....Pages 47-74 Redesigning Local Governance in India: Lessons from the Kerala Experiment....Pages 75-92 Contrasting Experiences of Decentralization in Two States in India....Pages 93-111 Challenges of Moving into a Devolved Polity in Sri Lanka....Pages 113-136 Politics and Local Government in Uganda....Pages 137-164 Possibility of Creating a Deliberative Solution in Uganda....Pages 165-184 Democratic Decentralization in Post-Apartheid South Africa....Pages 185-211 The Challenges of Deepening Democracy in Post-Apartheid South Africa....Pages 213-231 The Balance Sheet of Decentralization in Ghana....Pages 233-258 Potential and Limitation of Local Radio in Information Accessibility in Ghana....Pages 259-276 Conclusions....Pages 277-286 Back Matter....Pages 287-301