ABSTRACT
Carlos Nunes Silva and Stephen Syrett Introduction The decentralization of power to sub-national state institutions has been an often repeated objective of successive Portuguese governments in the post-revolutionary (after 1974) period of democracy. The initial political case for decentralization was founded upon the need to reduce the power of a highly centralised state administration and promote greater political participation and accountability in order to strengthen the democratic process. However the rapid socio-economic modernisation of Portugal after EU accession in 1986 has ensured that the practical imperatives for decentralising power have become increasingly influential. As economic liberalisation and substantial social and cultural change has advanced, political modernisation has lagged behind, with centralised and bureaucratic state administrative structures struggling to provide the quality of governance appropriate to a more developed industrial economy.
