Local democracy and the challenges of decentralising the state: An international perspective

Decentralisation has been a major element of governance reform in developed, developing and transitional countries over the past two decades. The driving forces have differed, as have the outcomes. This paper reviews a number of issues concerned with decentralisation, drawing comparisons between the experience in Central and Eastern Europe with that in a range of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The analysis focuses in six key areas: the size of local government units and the need for an intermediate tier; structures for local democratic control; citizen participation and engagement of civil society; assignment of financial resources; central-local relations; and the impact of decentralisation on service delivery, poverty reduction and corruption. The conclusion is that decentralisation needs to be carefully designed and implemented if it is to achieve the desired outcomes.