PhD Qualifying Exam in Public Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation
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Introduction
Decentralization is defined as the transfer of resources, authority and power. Moreover, decentralization not only comprises of transfer of control, power, and responsibility within the state but also there exist sharing of resources and authority for shaping public policy within the community. Successful implementation of decentralization requires the right ingredients, appropriate time frame, and some degree of experimentation. The national approach keeps focusing on centralized control by the legislature. Concepts of decentralization have rapidly changed over the past quarter of a century concerning the evolution in thinking about governance. Government is seen as the institutional embodiment of state sovereignty and as the dominant source of legal and political decision making.
Debates over the roles, structure and functions of states focused on the effectiveness of authority and central power in promoting social and economic progress and equally on the potential advantages and disadvantages of decentralizing authority to local conditions, subnational units and other agents of the government (Whitford, 2007). To this regard, decentralization is also defined as the transfer of authority, resources and responsibility through devolution and other aspects from the centre to a low level of administration. The concept of governance has expanded to incorporate not only the state but also other societal institutions. As globalization pushed many nations to adopt market economies, demands for economic and political participation grew even in countries that possessed authoritarian, dictatorial governments and in which the state traditionally played a dominant role in managing the national affairs. From the broader perspectives of good governance as accountable, transparent and representative, new concepts of decentralization developed.
The world war thinking of decentralization in the 1970s-1980s kept the focus on concentrating hierarchical state structures and bureaucracies hence resulting to the second wave of decentralization to incorporate democratization, market liberalization and power-sharing consequently expanding the scope for private sector decision making (Whitford, 2007). In the 1990s, decentralization was noted as a way of opening governance to broad public participation through firms to civil society. Devolution through decentralization aimed to strengthen local states by permitting them the resources, authority and responsibility to avail infrastructure and services and formulate local policies.
Goals and capabilities of local governments include having the will to create and strengthen mechanisms and channels for the participation of the public in decision making to enhance transparency in public procedures and equally make officials to be accountable. The local states can also ensure fair and free elections and appropriately decentralize resources and power to local communities. The local governments can also protect the independence of the judiciary and access justice by maintaining an effective and working civil service to ensure that the separation of powers. Regional states can equally safeguard the access to data and independence of the media to protect human rights and freedom of expression. The value of a regime splitting model of decentralized policy implementation is that it models the theories simultaneously by permitting for two regimes of bureaucratic decision making.
Strengths of Decentralization
Decentralization enhances the capacity of local governments and also of the civil society organizations and the private sector to extend services to a broad number of individuals. Moreover, this can be a technique of issuing great political representation to different ethnicity, religion, politics and culture without undermining the government. Decentralization gives room to the three supremacy organizations, namely the private sector, government and civil society firms to turn into more innovation and creativity in reacting to desires of the public. As a result, this can help states to balance regional developments mobilize private resources, empower communities, for investment in facilities and infrastructure. Decentralization helps build the capacity of institutions within civil society firms and local governments to attain the UN’s millennium development objectives and enhance opportunities of enforcing strategies successfully for the less privileged that dwell on local societies to take tenure of poverty-alleviation platforms (Whitford, 2007).
Limitations of Decentralization
Decentralization may accelerate the prospective for elite capture of local administrations destabilized by the will to elevate enough monetary funds to avail services sufficiently. Decentralization may also fail as a result of low stages of administrative and capability of management in civil society firms and local governments. Decentralization may be equally accompanied by enhanced levels of corruption nepotism, amongst other aspects.
Forms of decentralization can be categorized into four stages, namely; political, economic, fiscal and administrative. In this regard, political and budgetary devolution as a form of decentralization stipulates that the devolution of resources and powers to local states has been a foundation for promoting sustainable decentralization in developing nations. According to advocates, local governments with the capability, resources and authority of making a decision can play a crucial role in social and economic development (Whitford, 2007). Through this, residents are likely to take part actively in the local political procedures. In contrast, regional states are perceived to have the capability to make financial and political decisions affect their social and economic welfare. Transferring authority and power from the central government to sub-national administrations and local state units and equally opening the process of politics to widespread participation provides an institutional framework for regional autonomy and likewise empowers societies to undertake local aspirations.
The political devolution avails a legal basis for exercising power at the local level and also makes citizens influence local priority setting and the making of policy. On the other hand, fiscal devolution enables assignments of revenues and functions to regional states and subnational and the funds by which to enforce local programs and policies. However, citizens become disillusioned with their performance where funds deficiencies hinder local governments and undermine their will to avail services. The administrative decentralization entails de-concentration of central state structures and delegation of foremost state responsibility and authority to semiautonomous agents of the state. Also, it gives room for the decentralized co-operation of state agencies performing similar functions through twinning arrangements across national borders. The aspect of economic decentralization entails deregulation, state enterprises, market liberation and public-private relations. Governments in weak states, mainly the one’s coping with recovering from conflicts arising from civil wars etc. must deal with complex political, social, economic and challenges of development. As such, they may also experience the daunting tasks of availing social services, stabilizing, reviving the economy and stimulating investment and trade. Governments in the post-conflict communities face the difficult charges of reintegrating and demobilizing and establishing civilian control over the military and equally undertaking reforms of safety.
References
Weible, C. M., & Sabatier, P. A. (Eds.). (2017). Theories of the policy process. Hachette UK. http://edwardwimberley.com/courses/IntroEnvPol/theorypolprocess.pdf