D

Decentralisation is one of the more emotive terms in politics, almost rivalling democracy and equality in the heat it can produce. Decentralisation understood as managerial delegation and marketisation has fuelled major reforms of the public sector throughout the world in the 1980s and 1990s. With devolution, the discussion turns to the decentralisation of political authority either to local or regional government. There are three repeated claims made for decentralisation: that it promotes democracy, improves efficiency and checks central power. Each claim raises important problems. Liberal democracy assumes that decentralisation promotes democratic participation, especially local self-government. Nationally, decentralisation is said to promote political education, training in political leadership and political stability. In local government, it promotes the values of equality, accountability and responsiveness. There is no necessary link between decentralisation and democracy. Decentralisation can exist without local democracy and the practice of local democracy often falls short of the theory.