5. Between Autonomy and Control: Understanding Power Relations in Decentralisation

Authors

Aaqib Zahid
Lecturer, Department of Public Administration, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.

Synopsis

The intertwined concepts of Local Government and Decentralisation are pivotal in the discussion of good governance and sustainable development for their ability to localise public administration that facilitates local development. United Nations (2015) defines local government as the political subdivision of a state that is legally established and possesses significant authority over local matters, and Rondinelli, Nellis, & Cheema (1983) characterise decentralisation as the transfer of planning, local decision-making, and administrative power from central entities to field organisations, local administrative units, semi-autonomous or para-statal organisations, and potentially even nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). In other words, decentralisation is a process that redistributes power, decision-making authority, and resources from the central state to the local entities for the sake of a locally tailored governance conducive to local development. Moreover, decentralisation, through a localised form of governance, enhances citizen participation in local decision-making and helps bridge local disparities by establishing local ownership of the local issues and solving them through local knowledge to support local development.

However, decentralisation being a primary policy reform for more than half a century (Faguet & Pal, 2023), the transfer of power from central to local governments has not been smooth in both global north and south (See Note 1), which is evident through the growing amount of literature that deals with discrepancy of power between the central and local government (Duncan, 2007; Goldsmith, 2002; Kanju & Shayo, 2022; Martin, GuarnerosMeza, Downe & Entwhistle, 2010; McAteer & Bennett, 2005; Panday, 2017; Saunders, 1982; Wilson, 2003; Wunsch, 2001). However, being a widely discussed issue, the theoretical development on decentralisation, especially on central-local relationships, has been muted, and most of the literature focused on country experiences by identifying countryspecific problems and recommending solutions. Such country-specific literature is indeed essential for policymakers and development practitioners; however, such a centralised focus on applied research has slowed the theoretical advancement in local government literature, especially within the domain of decentralisation. For instance, being a central concept in decentralisation, the concept of power in a theoretical sense has largely been missing, even though power plays a pivotal role in the central-local relationship within the ontology of local government.

Published

January 30, 2025

How to Cite

5. Between Autonomy and Control: Understanding Power Relations in Decentralisation. (2025). In Contemporary Issues and Problems of Public Administration in Bangladesh. A H Development Publishing House. https://doi.org/10.71359/2nt8gs72