Manipulating Political Decentralisation

Manipulating Political Decentralisation PDF Author: Lovise Aalen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315472392
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
Can autocrats establish representative subnational governments? And which strategies of manipulation are available if they would like to reduce the uncertainty caused by introducing political decentralisation? In the wake of local government reforms, several states across the world have introduced legislation that provides for subnational elections. This does not mean that representative subnational governments in these countries are all of a certain standard. Political decentralisation should not be confused with democratisation, as the process is likely to be manipulated in ways that do not produce meaningful avenues for political participation and contestation locally. Using examples from Africa, Lovise Aalen and Ragnhild L. Muriaas propose five requirements for representative subnational governments and four strategies that national governments might use to manipulate the outcome of political decentralisation. The case studies of Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda illustrate why autocrats sometimes are more open to competition at the subnational level than democrats. Manipulating Political Decentralisation provides a new conceptual tool to assess representative subnational governments' quality, aiding us in building theories on the consequences of political decentralisation on democratisation.

Manipulating Political Decentralisation

Manipulating Political Decentralisation PDF Author: Lovise Aalen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315472392
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Get Book Here

Book Description
Can autocrats establish representative subnational governments? And which strategies of manipulation are available if they would like to reduce the uncertainty caused by introducing political decentralisation? In the wake of local government reforms, several states across the world have introduced legislation that provides for subnational elections. This does not mean that representative subnational governments in these countries are all of a certain standard. Political decentralisation should not be confused with democratisation, as the process is likely to be manipulated in ways that do not produce meaningful avenues for political participation and contestation locally. Using examples from Africa, Lovise Aalen and Ragnhild L. Muriaas propose five requirements for representative subnational governments and four strategies that national governments might use to manipulate the outcome of political decentralisation. The case studies of Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda illustrate why autocrats sometimes are more open to competition at the subnational level than democrats. Manipulating Political Decentralisation provides a new conceptual tool to assess representative subnational governments' quality, aiding us in building theories on the consequences of political decentralisation on democratisation.

How Does the Decentralization of Political Manipulation Strengthen National Electoral Authoritarian Regimes? Evidence from the Case of Mexico

How Does the Decentralization of Political Manipulation Strengthen National Electoral Authoritarian Regimes? Evidence from the Case of Mexico PDF Author: Allyson Benton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
How does the structure of decision-making about electoral manipulation affect support for national electoral authoritarian regimes? Following the logic of economic decentralization for efficient policy delivery in democratic settings, I argue that the devolution of responsibility for strategizing and executing political manipulation to subnational regime officials raises its efficiency and thus effectiveness in ensuring regime support, as long as subnational leaders face a credible threat that poorly chosen strategies will undermine their political careers. I test this argument on electoral authoritarian Mexico using a unique database that allows the separation of districts into decentralized and centralized manipulation structures. Statistical analysis using linear regression and electoral forensics methods provides support for the argument that decentralized electoral manipulation raises support for the regime as well as allows subnational officials to engage in a wider variety of techniques to this end, thereby increasing the benefits of electoral manipulation for the national electoral authoritarian regime.

The Political Economy of Democratic Decentralization

The Political Economy of Democratic Decentralization PDF Author: James Manor
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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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.

Waiting for Democracy

Waiting for Democracy PDF Author: Jesse Craig Ribot
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
References pp. 115-132.

Handbook on Decentralization, Devolution and the State

Handbook on Decentralization, Devolution and the State PDF Author: Lago, Ignacio
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1839103280
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Taking a multidisciplinary approach to the dynamics of political and economic decentralization in contemporary regimes, this comprehensive Handbook offers a critical examination of how the decentralization of governance affects citizen well-being.

Why Governments and Parties Manipulate Elections

Why Governments and Parties Manipulate Elections PDF Author: Alberto Simpser
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107311322
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
Why do parties and governments cheat in elections they cannot lose? This book documents the widespread use of blatant and excessive manipulation of elections and explains what drives this practice. Alberto Simpser shows that, in many instances, elections are about more than winning. Electoral manipulation is not only a tool used to gain votes, but also a means of transmitting or distorting information. This manipulation conveys an image of strength, shaping the behavior of citizens, bureaucrats, politicians, parties, unions and businesspeople to the benefit of the manipulators, increasing the scope for the manipulators to pursue their goals while in government and mitigating future challenges to their hold on power. Why Governments and Parties Manipulate Elections provides a general theory about what drives electoral manipulation and empirically documents global patterns of manipulation.

Local Governance in Africa

Local Governance in Africa PDF Author: Dele Olowu
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ISBN: 9781588261731
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
An exploration of why some decentralization reforms have led to viable systems of local governance in Africa, while others have failed. It outlines the key issues involved, provides historical context, and identifies the factors that have encouraged or discouraged success.

Fiscal Federalism 2014 Making Decentralisation Work

Fiscal Federalism 2014 Making Decentralisation Work PDF Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264204571
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
This book provides an overview on recent trends and policies in intergovernmental fiscal relations and sub-central govenrment.

The Politics of Distributing Social Transfers

The Politics of Distributing Social Transfers PDF Author: Senior Lecturer in Politics and Development Tom Lavers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192862529
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. The Politics of Distributing Social Transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia provides a systematic analysis of the political processes shaping the distribution of social transfers in six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In doing so, the book addresses a notable gap in recent research on social protection concerning the politics of implementation. While considerable attention has been devoted to debating the merits of different policy designs and the political factors shaping the adoption and diffusion of different policy models, ultimately the ability of any social transfer programme to deliver on its promises is dependent on the effective implementation and distribution of social transfers in line with intended objectives. The chapters in this book examine international and sub-national variation in programme implementation in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, and Rwanda, drawing on a common analytical framework that highlights the importance of state capacity and reach, rooted in histories of state formation, and contemporary political competition in shaping the distribution of social transfers. Comparative analysis of the case studies supports the view that variation in the capacity and reach of the state within countries is a centrally important factor shaping the effectiveness and impartiality of distribution. Yet state capacity alone is insufficient. Rather political competition and power relations shape how this capacity is actually deployed in practice. As such, the book underscores the inherently political nature of implementation and questions common technocratic efforts to improve implementation by de-politicizing the social protection policy process.

Politics as a Science

Politics as a Science PDF Author: Philippe C. Schmitter
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000180220
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
In Politics as a Science, two of the world's leading authorities on Comparative Politics, Philippe C. Schmitter and Marc Blecher, provide a lively introduction to the concepts and framework to study and analyze politics. Written with dexterity, concision and clarity, this short text makes no claim to being scientific. It contains no disprovable hypotheses, no original collection of evidence and no search for patterns of association. Instead, Schmitter and Blecher keep the text broadly conceptual and theoretical to convey their vision of the sprawling subject of politics. They map the process in which researchers try to specify the goal of the trip, some of the landmarks likely to be encountered en route and the boundaries that will circumscribe the effort. Examples, implications and elaborations are included in footnotes throughout the book. Politics as a Science is an ideal introduction for anyone interested in, or studying, comparative politics. “The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781003032144, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.”