ODI Logo ODI

Trending

What we do

Search

Newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter.

Follow ODI

Decentralisation and Political Accountability

Working papers

Written by John Farrington

Over the last few years the debate on local governance has focused on how to:
• deepen democratic self-government and strengthen participatory forms of development;
• reform the state, modes of governance and methods of government so as to give citizens greater voice and influence in decision-making;
• enhance the accountability of government and the sponsiveness of public policies to the needs of the population, and especially the poor;
• increase the effectiveness of public policies and service delivery (the principle of ‘subsidiarity’);
• enhance social capital by fostering social cohesion and trust within local communities;
• provide dispute-resolution mechanisms to manage conflict peacefully at the local level.

Edited by John Farrington