Africa
It’s time for Africa
The famous song performed by Shakira at the opening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was just translating the new appetite for Africa that is rising up in the mindset of many […]
Regions & Countries
Asia
The Rocky Road to Federation in the Philippines
Federalism is a buzzword in the Philippines these days. A former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Reynato Puno, recently launched a highly publicised national renewal movement, Bagong Sistema, Bagong Pag-asa (New System, New Hope), […]
Asia
Ethnic Armed Conflict and Territorial Administration in Myanmar
Rural and mountainous areas across many of Myanmar’s non-Bamar regions are contested by multiple governance actors with overlapping claims to territory, including: the Myanmar government and armed forces, countless state-backed ethnic militia, and dozens of […]
Latin America & Caribbean
Decentralization of Water and Sanitation Services in Honduras
Honduras has one of the highest incidences of poverty and inequality in the western hemisphere. It is the third poorest country in Latin America with a population of roughly 8.3 million inhabitants of which more […]
Asia
Forest and Land-use Governance in a Decentralized Indonesia: A Legal and Policy Review
Indonesia’s forest and peat land fire in 2015 is recorded as the worst forest fire incident since 1997 with 127,000 fires across the country. These fires, mostly resulted from slash and burn method used to […]
Africa
Breaking Up is Hard to Do: The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Risky Decentralization Drive
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is in the midst of implementing a big decentralization project. The so-called “découpage”—literally, “cutting up”—has been a long time coming: the decision to subdivide is enshrined […]
Africa
Elections in Tanzania reflect greater political competition
Elections were held on October 25, 1015, in the United Republic of Tanzania, with more than 12,000 candidates from Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar—including 1,039 women—running for the Presidency, Parliament,the Zanzibar House of Representatives, and local District […]
Europe & Central Asia
As Ukraine Moves Toward Decentralization, Challenges Loom
On Sunday, October 25, Ukrainians went to the polls to elect mayors and representatives to municipal councils. Under normal circumstances, local elections would go more or less unnoticed by international observers, but with no elections […]
Asia
Study: Decentralization Effort in Indonesia Shows Need for Performance Incentives from Central Government
Performance-based Public Management Reforms: Experience and Emerging Lessons From Service Delivery Improvement in Indonesia, a case study by RTI International, examines service delivery pathways in Indonesia 15 years after President Suharto was swept from power […]
Asia
Decentralization and Role of School Development Committees in Public Schools in Sri Lanka
In this paper, Chandana Arachchi discusses the nature of the implementation of School Development Committees (SDC) in the government school sector in Sri Lanka. The Programme of School Improvement (PSI) is being implemented in Sri Lanka since […]