GOLD Report I - UCLG

285• In Eurasia, particularly in EasternEurope, reforms were taken quickly todismantle the former system andmove toward local self-government,and at present the countries haveattained different levels of institutionaldevelopment. In some countries localself-government exists as an independentinstitution, while in others reformhas not been implemented.• In Asia-Pacific, Indonesia, the Philippines,and India provide the most dramaticexamples of major reform for enhancedlocal government autonomy. Countriessuch as China and Vietnam have adopteddecentralization strategies withinthe context of strongly centralized politicalruling systems. In some othercountries, like Pakistan, there has beena noticeable cyclical movement to andfro between periods of centralizationand decentralization. By contrast, inBangladesh and Malaysia resistancefrom the center has impeded any substantialdecentralization that wouldstrengthen the political role of localgovernment. Finally, the OECD countriesin the region, Australia, Japan, theRepublic of Korea and New Zealand,also emphasize decentralization as partof their ongoing administrative reformprocesses.With these two perspectives – on strategicobjectives and on velocity of change – weturn now to explore how the nations andlocal governments have approached theorganization of the state. To what extenthave policy frameworks guided the designand implementation of decentralized governance?What changes have been madein assigning functions, in providing adequatefinance, and arranging for participationand democracy? How closely havegovernments adhered to international expectationsand standards as expressed inthe UN Habitat Guidelines on Decentralizationand the Strengthening of Local Authoritiesand the European Charter of LocalSelf-Government?II. Progress and Pitfalls:Six Core IssuesThough the preceding introduction may berhetorically useful for grasping a glimpse ofthe global state of affairs, it is not a tidycategorization and has limitations in termsof understanding the tactical issues inimplementation. Countries are in variousdegrees of engagement with the six areasof policy 1) national policy and strategy, 2)organizational units, 3) responsibilities, 4)financing, 5) mechanisms of participationand accountability, and 6) institutionalcapacity. This section reviews the six coreissues, noting trends across or withinregions, and spotting promising areas ofprogress where lessons may be useful in awider setting.Policy and StrategyThis review of countries and regions revealsa wide spectrum of policy positions andorganizational strategies for local governments.Though few countries have fullblownstrategies, as we note below, mostmake some reference to the EuropeanCharter and Guidelines on Decentralization(see Box 1, below). Both documents refer toprinciples that have been widely discussed,synthesized and generally accepted by theinternational community. The EuropeanCharter was published in 1985. UN Habitatin close collaboration with local authoritiesproduced Guidelines on Decentralization.Only a handful of nations have framed acomprehensive policy on decentralization,blending political reform (power-sharing),economic development, and democraticchoice-making with capacity-strengtheningand financing in order to produce a longterm solution. As noted above, Bolivia,South Africa, and Indonesia have eachmounted comprehensive elements, but nota complete strategy. Bolivia and SouthAfrica produced comprehensive visions (in1992 and 1994, respectively), and thoughBolivia recently reaffirmed its intentions(Government of Bolivia 2006), neither go-