Author: Merilee S. Grindle
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400830354
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249
Book Description
Many developing countries have a history of highly centralized governments. Since the late 1980s, a large number of these governments have introduced decentralization to increase democracy and improve services, especially in small communities far from capital cities. In Going Local, an unprecedented study of the effects of decentralization on thirty Mexican municipalities, Merilee Grindle describes how local governments respond when they are assigned new responsibilities and resources under decentralization policies. She explains why decentralization leads to better local governments in some cases--and why it fails to in others. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, Grindle examines data based on a random sample of Mexican municipalities--and ventures into town halls to follow public officials as they seek to manage a variety of tasks amid conflicting pressures and new expectations. Decentralization, she discovers, is a double-edged sword. While it allows public leaders to make significant reforms quickly, institutional weaknesses undermine the durability of change, and legacies of the past continue to affect how public problems are addressed. Citizens participate, but they are more successful at extracting resources from government than in holding local officials and agencies accountable for their actions. The benefits of decentralization regularly predicted by economists, political scientists, and management specialists are not inevitable, she argues. Rather, they are strongly influenced by the quality of local leadership and politics.
Going Local
Author: Merilee S. Grindle
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400830354
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249
Book Description
Many developing countries have a history of highly centralized governments. Since the late 1980s, a large number of these governments have introduced decentralization to increase democracy and improve services, especially in small communities far from capital cities. In Going Local, an unprecedented study of the effects of decentralization on thirty Mexican municipalities, Merilee Grindle describes how local governments respond when they are assigned new responsibilities and resources under decentralization policies. She explains why decentralization leads to better local governments in some cases--and why it fails to in others. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, Grindle examines data based on a random sample of Mexican municipalities--and ventures into town halls to follow public officials as they seek to manage a variety of tasks amid conflicting pressures and new expectations. Decentralization, she discovers, is a double-edged sword. While it allows public leaders to make significant reforms quickly, institutional weaknesses undermine the durability of change, and legacies of the past continue to affect how public problems are addressed. Citizens participate, but they are more successful at extracting resources from government than in holding local officials and agencies accountable for their actions. The benefits of decentralization regularly predicted by economists, political scientists, and management specialists are not inevitable, she argues. Rather, they are strongly influenced by the quality of local leadership and politics.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400830354
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249
Book Description
Many developing countries have a history of highly centralized governments. Since the late 1980s, a large number of these governments have introduced decentralization to increase democracy and improve services, especially in small communities far from capital cities. In Going Local, an unprecedented study of the effects of decentralization on thirty Mexican municipalities, Merilee Grindle describes how local governments respond when they are assigned new responsibilities and resources under decentralization policies. She explains why decentralization leads to better local governments in some cases--and why it fails to in others. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, Grindle examines data based on a random sample of Mexican municipalities--and ventures into town halls to follow public officials as they seek to manage a variety of tasks amid conflicting pressures and new expectations. Decentralization, she discovers, is a double-edged sword. While it allows public leaders to make significant reforms quickly, institutional weaknesses undermine the durability of change, and legacies of the past continue to affect how public problems are addressed. Citizens participate, but they are more successful at extracting resources from government than in holding local officials and agencies accountable for their actions. The benefits of decentralization regularly predicted by economists, political scientists, and management specialists are not inevitable, she argues. Rather, they are strongly influenced by the quality of local leadership and politics.
Democracy at the Local Level
Author: Timothy D. Sisk
Publisher: International IDEA
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
In today's globalising world, there is growing emphasis on local democracy. More than ever, cities need new ideas for ways of managing the political challenges and opportunities that arise from increased urbanisation and globalisation. Governing effectively at the local level is all the more urgent as vigorous local civic engagement builds the foundation for a strong and more enduring national-level democracy. Organised into six chapters and written by experts from around the world this handbook offers: practical suggestions for designing systems of local governance; principles and policies for managing culturally diverse cities; choices for enhancing local elections and representative democracy; options for expanding citizen participation; recommendations for the international community for enhancing local democracy.
Publisher: International IDEA
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
In today's globalising world, there is growing emphasis on local democracy. More than ever, cities need new ideas for ways of managing the political challenges and opportunities that arise from increased urbanisation and globalisation. Governing effectively at the local level is all the more urgent as vigorous local civic engagement builds the foundation for a strong and more enduring national-level democracy. Organised into six chapters and written by experts from around the world this handbook offers: practical suggestions for designing systems of local governance; principles and policies for managing culturally diverse cities; choices for enhancing local elections and representative democracy; options for expanding citizen participation; recommendations for the international community for enhancing local democracy.
Democratic Local Governance
Author: G. Shabbir Cheema
Publisher: UN
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
Asian countries have introduced major reforms and new institutional mechanisms in recent years to promote the engagement of elected local governments, civil society, and the private sector. This book examines emerging issues in democratic local governance and factors that influenced the impetus for and the substance of reforms. It asks the following questions: - What have been the challenges in designing and implementing decentralization policies and programs? - What are the constraints on strengthening citizen participation? - Can reforms promote gender and rights perspectives in local governance? - What is the role of local government in service delivery and access? - How effective are the mechanisms for accountability and transparency in local governance? - What are the driving forces influencing democratic local governance reform? The book addresses these questions as it discusses studies from theoretical and comparative perspectives on specific issues as well as myriad cases across Asia, often dealing with country-specific reforms.
Publisher: UN
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
Asian countries have introduced major reforms and new institutional mechanisms in recent years to promote the engagement of elected local governments, civil society, and the private sector. This book examines emerging issues in democratic local governance and factors that influenced the impetus for and the substance of reforms. It asks the following questions: - What have been the challenges in designing and implementing decentralization policies and programs? - What are the constraints on strengthening citizen participation? - Can reforms promote gender and rights perspectives in local governance? - What is the role of local government in service delivery and access? - How effective are the mechanisms for accountability and transparency in local governance? - What are the driving forces influencing democratic local governance reform? The book addresses these questions as it discusses studies from theoretical and comparative perspectives on specific issues as well as myriad cases across Asia, often dealing with country-specific reforms.
Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World
Author: United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821377353
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 350
Book Description
'Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World' constitutes a global reference on decentralization by presenting the contemporary situation of local governments in all regions of the world. The report analyzes local authorities in each continent under three main themes: the evolution of territorial structures; responsibilities and power, management and finances; and local democracy. An additional chapter is dedicated to the governance of large metropolises, where rapid growth presents major challenges, in particular in the fast-developing countries of the South. This report also offers a comparative overview of the different realities concerning the state of decentralization, and how the basic indispensable mechansims for local democracy do, or do not exist in come countries. Relationships between the state and local authorities are evolving toward innovative forms of cooperation. In this context, the role of local authorities in the development of global policies is increasingly recognized. The first Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD) Report is one of the main products of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The GOLD Report is the first of what will be a triennial publication. UCLG represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. Headquartered in Barcelona, the organization's stated mission is: To be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community.
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821377353
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 350
Book Description
'Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World' constitutes a global reference on decentralization by presenting the contemporary situation of local governments in all regions of the world. The report analyzes local authorities in each continent under three main themes: the evolution of territorial structures; responsibilities and power, management and finances; and local democracy. An additional chapter is dedicated to the governance of large metropolises, where rapid growth presents major challenges, in particular in the fast-developing countries of the South. This report also offers a comparative overview of the different realities concerning the state of decentralization, and how the basic indispensable mechansims for local democracy do, or do not exist in come countries. Relationships between the state and local authorities are evolving toward innovative forms of cooperation. In this context, the role of local authorities in the development of global policies is increasingly recognized. The first Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD) Report is one of the main products of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The GOLD Report is the first of what will be a triennial publication. UCLG represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. Headquartered in Barcelona, the organization's stated mission is: To be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community.
Politicising Democracy
Author: J. Harriss
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230502806
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
There is a major contradiction in contemporary politics: there has been a wave of democratization that has swept across much of the world, while at the same time globalization appears to have reduced the social forces that have built democracy historically. This book, by an international group of authors, analyzes the ways in which local politics in developing countries - often neglected in work on democratization - render democratic experiments more or less successful in realizing substantial democracy.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230502806
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
There is a major contradiction in contemporary politics: there has been a wave of democratization that has swept across much of the world, while at the same time globalization appears to have reduced the social forces that have built democracy historically. This book, by an international group of authors, analyzes the ways in which local politics in developing countries - often neglected in work on democratization - render democratic experiments more or less successful in realizing substantial democracy.
Democratisation of Local Administration
Author: Nu (U)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Burma
Languages : en
Pages : 16
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Burma
Languages : en
Pages : 16
Book Description
Liberation Technology
Author: Larry Diamond
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421405687
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of liberation'' versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia.
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421405687
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of liberation'' versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia.
Beyond Hanoi
Author: Benedict J Tria Kerkvliet
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
ISBN: 9812305947
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371
Book Description
This is the first book in English to examine local government and authority in Vietnam since the country's reunification in 1975. Six chapters emphasize particular villages and districts in different parts of the country, one examines a ward in Hanoi, another focuses on Ho Chi Minh City, and one compares leaders in several provinces. To contextualize conditions today, two chapters analyse local government in Vietnam's long history. The opening chapter synthesizes the findings in this book with those in other studies by researchers inside and outside Vietnam.
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
ISBN: 9812305947
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371
Book Description
This is the first book in English to examine local government and authority in Vietnam since the country's reunification in 1975. Six chapters emphasize particular villages and districts in different parts of the country, one examines a ward in Hanoi, another focuses on Ho Chi Minh City, and one compares leaders in several provinces. To contextualize conditions today, two chapters analyse local government in Vietnam's long history. The opening chapter synthesizes the findings in this book with those in other studies by researchers inside and outside Vietnam.
Institutions and Democracy in Africa
Author: Nic Cheeseman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107148243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 399
Book Description
Offers new research on the vital importance of institutions, such as presidential term-limits in the African democratisation processes.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107148243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 399
Book Description
Offers new research on the vital importance of institutions, such as presidential term-limits in the African democratisation processes.
The Political Economy of Democratic Decentralization
Author: James Manor
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 152
Book Description
Nearly all countries worldwide are now experimenting with decentralization. Their motivation are diverse. Many countries are decentralizing because they believe this can help stimulate economic growth or reduce rural poverty, goals central government interventions have failed to achieve. Some countries see it as a way to strengthen civil society and deepen democracy. Some perceive it as a way to off-load expensive responsibilities onto lower level governments. Thus, decentralization is seen as a solution to many different kinds of problems. This report examines the origins and implications decentralization from a political economy perspective, with a focus on its promise and limitations. It explores why countries have often chosen not to decentralize, even when evidence suggests that doing so would be in the interests of the government. It seeks to explain why since the early 1980s many countries have undertaken some form of decentralization. This report also evaluates the evidence to understand where decentralization has considerable promise and where it does not. It identifies conditions needed for decentralization to succeed. It identifies the ways in which decentralization can promote rural development. And it names the goals which decentralization will probably not help achieve.
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 152
Book Description
Nearly all countries worldwide are now experimenting with decentralization. Their motivation are diverse. Many countries are decentralizing because they believe this can help stimulate economic growth or reduce rural poverty, goals central government interventions have failed to achieve. Some countries see it as a way to strengthen civil society and deepen democracy. Some perceive it as a way to off-load expensive responsibilities onto lower level governments. Thus, decentralization is seen as a solution to many different kinds of problems. This report examines the origins and implications decentralization from a political economy perspective, with a focus on its promise and limitations. It explores why countries have often chosen not to decentralize, even when evidence suggests that doing so would be in the interests of the government. It seeks to explain why since the early 1980s many countries have undertaken some form of decentralization. This report also evaluates the evidence to understand where decentralization has considerable promise and where it does not. It identifies conditions needed for decentralization to succeed. It identifies the ways in which decentralization can promote rural development. And it names the goals which decentralization will probably not help achieve.