ABSTRACT
A strong local government is key to an effective democracy. Many developing countries have promoted decentralization and good governance policies at local levels for several decades, although some, like Kyrgyzstan, have made insufficient progress. At the same time, countries like Brazil have embraced a bottom-up approach and become one of the best performers in decentralization. This chapter poses a primary question: “Why are local governance structures in some transitional countries failing to be truly ‘local’?” We use Kyrgyzstan and Brazil, two countries with very different local governance structures, to compare and contrast decentralization. The authors examine Kyrgyzstan’s local administration, the current state of affairs, and the challenges associated with each. The chapter then examines several principal elements of the decentralization policies advanced in Brazil during the 1980s. Finally, we offer several lessons learned from local reforms in Brazil and propose applying them to the context of Kyrgyzstan.
