ABSTRACT
A major goal of nation building in Iraq was to restructure and decentralize the power and authority of the central government. The short history of nation building in post, Saddam Hussein Iraq has been cast as a tale of overweening arrogance, foreign policy miscalculation, bureaucratic bungling, military quagmire, societal liberation, and unprecedented political transformation, to name but a few descriptors. This chapter explores how can democratic systems of governance be designed and installed, looking specifically at subnational governance and public administration. It summarizes Local Governance Program (LGP)'s and LGP2's major activities and their contribution to building governance and public administration capacity. Budgeting and expenditure management capacity building and systems design were major elements of LGP technical assistance. Public service delivery in Iraq historically has taken place through decon-centrated units of sectoral ministries controlled from the center.
