ABSTRACT
This chapter has examined whether the decentralisation process in Macedonia has enhanced the fiscal autonomy of Macedonian municipalities, a key theoretical assumption underpinning the reform's ability to mitigate ethnic conflict in unitary states. It began by considering why the national parties governing Macedonia at the time the reforms were adopted chose to give up political and fiscal power to the local level, and suggests short-term political calculations were decisive. The chapter also suggests that fluctuations in the electoral strength of the governing parties, in particular a change of government in 2006, adversely affected central government's commitment to enhancing the fiscal autonomy of the municipalities and may continue to do so in the future. This chapter illustrates that, while constitutionally guaranteed decentralisation processes may be harder to reverse than others, it is not impossible. Central governments can and do find ways to retain control, even as supposedly decentralising reforms proceed.
