Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/224799
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper Series No. 15-173
Publisher: 
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Department of International Development, London
Abstract: 
Well-designed decentralization can deepen democracy and strengthen the state in five key ways. Decentralizing below the level of social cleavages should undermine secessionism by peeling away moderates from radical leaders. The "fragmentation of authority" critique is mistaken; decentralization transforms the state from a simpler, brittler command structure to one of multilevel complementarity more robust to local failure. Decentralizing services with low economies of scale, with devolved taxation and bail-outs prohibited, should increase accountability. Lastly, the small scale of local politics allows citizens to become political actors, promoting social learning-by-doing, strengthening political legitimacy and 'democratic suppleness' from the grass-roots upwards.
Subjects: 
Decentralization
state strength
fragile states
social learning
government accountability
political legitimacy
elite capture
secession
subnational governance
public services
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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