This comprehensive volume provides uniquely diverse insights into various aspects of decentralization and development from both developed and developing countries, with special reference to Sri Lanka. For a quarter century, Sri Lanka was battered by its prolonged civil war, which ended in 2009, but has now achieved relative peace and stability. Having developed rapidly, Sri Lanka offers a classic example for developing countries. There is, however, a strong need, particularly in the context of postwar conflict, to formulate policies for reconciliation, peace building, and development at all levels—local, provincial, and national. Decentralization itself is not a new subject; however, how to devolve power to local administrative levels within a unitary system and how to link the devolved power to make local administrative systems more conducive to development and provide better services for citizens are challenging tasks in many countries. Taking into account the developmental, governance, and conciliatory needs and the sensitivity of central–local relations, this volume critically examines the local government systems in Sri Lanka. It also proposes a viable, effective and autonomous local-level administrative unit based, which draws on experiences from Japan and other countries, and identifies the role and functions of such a unit. The book presents commissioned papers from a three-year research project undertaken by internationally respected experts with financial support by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) under a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research.

First published in 1985, Decentralization provides an analytical framework for the comparative study of decentralization in contemporary systems of government. It discusses the structures and processes of all forms of decentralized government and administration, drawing on a wide range of states, developed and developing, capitalist and socialist. The book provides a comparative and theoretical treatment of a subject that for too long has been dealt with in a fragmented and ethnocentric fashion. Decentralization is examined from a theoretical perspective and the political demand for it is analysed. Four key universal themes are then explored: areas, intergovernmental relations, finance and institutions. Decentralization to small-scale communities is discussed and the special claims made for decentralization in developing countries are assessed. Examples are drawn from a wide range of countries throughout the world. The book is intended for courses in public administration, comparative government, urban studies and public policy. It will help both the student and the non-specialist understand an important and topical aspect of government everywhere.

The authors also explore two controversial propositions. First they ask whether Britain is moving from the unitory, strong executive of the "Westminster model" to a "differentiated polity" characterized by institutional fragmentation. Second, they consider whether an unintended consequence of recent changes is a 'hollowing out of the state'. Is the British executive losing functions downwards to devolved governments and special-purpose bodies and outwards to regional offices and agencies with a resulting loss of central capacity? Substantial empirical data (both quantitative and qualitative) has been amassed here in order to give answers to these questions.

The book addresses the impact of the European Union (EU) on subnational mobilization in small unitary states. Located at the intersection of contributions from the literatures on multilevel governance and Europeanization, this book offers a new theoretical framework to account for state rescaling processes in small unitary states. By means of a comparative analysis of eight small unitary states in Europe, this book shows that the impact of the EU on subnational mobilization is filtered through domestic mediating factors which can lead to three possible outcomes: decentralization, recentralization or no change. The book offers a balanced combination of analytical clarity and the richness of empirical accounts in a wide diversity of case studies. It sheds a new light on the 'hybrid nature' of the European polity and demonstrates that member state governments have remained the most important pieces of the European puzzle. Overall, it arrives at two conclusions: first, that we are witnessing a 'transformation of the state' rather than its demise; second, the notion of a 'Europe of the Regions' in small unitary states was no more than a 'damp squib'. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Regional & Federal Studies.

The 1990s were marked by democratic reforms throughout Africa, which went in tandem with decentralization reforms. The chapters of the volume all highlight the gradual changes that have taken place since. Long-term structural uncodified factors – be it societal, economic, geographic, demographic – seem to have interacted with the constitutional clauses introduced during the reforms. Some chapters look at how decentralization slowly gave way to recentralization because none of the new subnational entities were politically and economically strong enough to balance off the center; some look at how inherent deficiencies in infrastructure and personnel at the subnational level brought the central government back in; some look at how different subnational units ended up working differently due to differences in demographic and social factors; some look at how uncodified factors came to determine how national politics functioned; some look at how decentralization created new conflicts between ethnic groups competing for the control of the new entities; some look at how decentralization blew new life into traditional authorities. This book was original published as a special issue of Regional and Federal Studies.