ABSTRACT
This chapter covers the key requirements of successful decentralization reform practice. The focus is on the need for well-designed conceptual frameworks, strategies, and coordination mechanisms on which decentralizing countries should rely when implementing decentralization reforms. The important roles international development partners can play, and the instruments and aid modalities available to them to support decentralizing countries’ reform efforts, are also discussed. Special attention is drawn to the political economy of decentralization reforms and the extent to which it enables a better understanding of each of these aspects.
