Decentralization in Lebanon

Challenges to Decentralization of Disaster Management in Turkey: The Role of Political-Administrative Context

“…It can also promote innovation as new ideas do not have to travel all the way up through the hierarchy to get approved. By being able to see the results of one's efforts and not "just being a cog" in a large centralized bureaucracy, administrative decentralization can further improve the motivation of public employees (Haase & Antoun, 2015;Pollitt, 2005). Supporters of political decentralization further propose that it brings political power closer to the citizens and that politicians become "less remote, more visible, and more accountable" (Pollitt, 2005, p. 381).…”

“…Decentralization can, for example, lead to increased corruption and decreased health and education services (Treisman, 2000). Ineffective and/or dysfunctional decentralization processes have been observed in a variety of political-administrative system contexts, like the Middle East (Haase & Antoun, 2015), South Asia and West Africa (Agrawal & Ribot, 1999), and Latin America (Jesse et al, 2006). In some of these "unsuccessful" cases, more time may have been needed to be able to reap the benefits of decentralization (Ribot, 2002), but most studies indicate that the right conditions for successful decentralization were nonexistent from the outset (Hutchcroft, 2001).…”

“…In some of these "unsuccessful" cases, more time may have been needed to be able to reap the benefits of decentralization (Ribot, 2002), but most studies indicate that the right conditions for successful decentralization were nonexistent from the outset (Hutchcroft, 2001). The potential of decentralization reforms in general is hypothesized to depend on the institutional context (Bardhan, 2002;Hutchcroft, 2001;Knill, 1999;Pollitt, 2005) and the overall political culture and circumstances in which they are embedded (Garschagen, 2015;Haase & Antoun, 2015;Scott & Tarazona, 2011). Some critical aspects to ponder before attempting to decentralize are whether local jurisdictions have the needed capacity and financial resources and whether they are prepared to assume the responsibilities handed to them (Haase & Antoun, 2015;Jesse et al, 2006).…”

“…The potential of decentralization reforms in general is hypothesized to depend on the institutional context (Bardhan, 2002;Hutchcroft, 2001;Knill, 1999;Pollitt, 2005) and the overall political culture and circumstances in which they are embedded (Garschagen, 2015;Haase & Antoun, 2015;Scott & Tarazona, 2011). Some critical aspects to ponder before attempting to decentralize are whether local jurisdictions have the needed capacity and financial resources and whether they are prepared to assume the responsibilities handed to them (Haase & Antoun, 2015;Jesse et al, 2006). Other relevant context features include whether citizens are fully informed and the strength of monitoring, accounting systems, and accountability mechanisms (Bardhan, 2002).…”

“…At the same time, the wider decentralization literature shows that decentralization efforts may have unforeseen effects,yet research detailing how recent decentralizing reforms play out in various disaster management systems lags behind policy circles' advocacy. The wider decentralization literature has, for example, established that decentralization attempts may lead to recentralizing backlashes (Haase & Antoun, 2015;Jesse, Agrawal, & Larson, 2006). This article investigates such a backlash within the Turkish disaster management system.…”