GOLD Report I - UCLG

POSTFACE306 United Cities and Local GovernmentsThe first of these three terms refers torelations between the various levels ofpower, the second to the status of theauthorities and the third to the way inwhich power is exercised. We will notaddress the expressions of these semanticfields relating to federalism or to regionalautonomies. The comparison between thesethree fields shows a convergence at thelevel of political ideas and legal notions;even though some major states have remainedoutside this tendency.I. DecentralizationThe notion of decentralization is understoodtoday in very different ways dependingon the author and institution,which leads to misunderstanding andconfusion. Sometimes, overly broaddefinitions of decentralization becomeconfused with governance, a notionwhich in itself is already not very precise.This is the case in a report publishedby the UNDP on decentralized governanceà propos the services which ought tobe provided to poor populations: “Conceptually,decentralization relates to theroles of, and the relations between, centraland sub-national institutions, whetherthey are public, private or civic.Improved governance will require notonly strengthened central and localgovernments but also the involvement ofother actors from civil society organizationsand the private sector in partnershipswith government at all levels” 3 .According to this definition, the relationsbetween the state or local governmentand private companies or NGOs are partof the problem concerning decentralization.The report then distinguishes four types ofdecentralization: administrative decentralization,in which local authorities areaccountable to higher authorities; politicaldecentralization, in which local authoritiesare theoretically independent of the state,invested with powers and elected; budgetarydecentralization, which refers to thetransfer of the resources necessary for theexercise of the transferred powers and responsibilities;and lastly, divestment ormarket decentralization, which entails atransfer of functions to the private sector(companies, NGOs...), including planningand administration, previously held bypublic institutions.However, the argument slips from decentralizationto governance. We recognizethat improved governance might indeedcall for the involvement of private actors,but this applies to all levels of governmentand not just to relations between localpowers and higher authorities. This idea isalso represented in a recent book with contributionsfrom various United Nationsexperts. Globalization would necessitatean enlarged vision of decentralizationwithin the framework of the new concept ofgovernance. According to these authors,decentralization cannot be devised anylonger as the devolution of powers withingovernment, and rather embraces resourceand power sharing in policy making insociety as a whole. The enlarged conceptof “governance decentralization” suggestsa new decentralization category, in additionto the traditional ones: “economicdecentralization”, including “market liberalization,deregulation, privatization ofpublic enterprises and public-private partnerships”4 .3. Work, R. (2002), The Role of participation and partnership in decentralized governance: a brief synthesis of policy lessons andrecommendations of nine countries on service delivery for the poor, UNDP, New York, p.3.4. G. Shabbir Cheema / Dennis A. Rondinelli (2007), “From government decentralization to decentralized governance”, p.6 in: G. ShabbirCheema / Dennis A. Rondinelli (eds), Decentralizing governance, Brookings Institution Press / Ash Institute for Democratic Governanceand Innovation.