This edited volume examines the impact of decentralized governance in South Asia, focusing on historical and contemporary efforts in rural and urban areas. Written with the ultimate goal of developing an understanding of how local governance contributes to democracy, development, and citizen empowerment, the book highlights the importance of democratic decentralization, political will, and administrative support. Including contributions by a collection of international academic experts and practitioners, the book covers themes like conceptual issues, historical perspectives, fiscal decentralization, grassroots democracy, engendering local governance and the influence of information technology. Addressing challenges, sharing experiences, and suggesting practical ways to improve decentralized governance, the volume will be of interest to researchers and students of public administration, governance, South Asian politics, and development, as well as professionals working in related areas.
Part I Prologue.-Chapter1: Decentralization and Local Governance in
South Asia An Introduction.- Part II Decentralization Development and Reforms
Comparative Perspective.
Chapter2: Decentralized Governance in Rural India
Looking Back and Way Forward.
Chapter3: Local Self Government in Sri Lanka
Democratic Decentralization or Recentralization.
Chapter4: Decentralization
Arrangements in Bhutan Perceived or real disconnects and reflections on way
forward.
Chapter5: Promises and Reality Exploring Thirty Years of
Decentralization Reform and Local Governments in India.
Chapter6:
Globalization of Public Administration in Bangladesh An Analysis of Reforms
Trends and Theories.
Chapter7: Parallel Local Government Structures in
Pakistan Autonomy and Performance of Cantonment Boards.- Part III Governance
and Intergovernmental Fiscal Architecture.
Chapter8: Decentralization
Dilemma Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer and Local Accountability in Nepal.-
Chapter9: Decentralizing Development Assessing Fiscal Policies and Human
Capital Outcomes in Sri Lankas Provincial Councils.
Chapter10: Fiscal
Decentralization in Sri Lanka Policy Implications for Enhancing Fiscal
Autonomy in the Provincial Councils.
Chapter11: Devolution and fiscal
decentralization for accelerating regional development in South Asia:
Problems and prospects.- Part IV Deepening Democracy through Decentralized
Governance.
Chapter12: Deepening Democracy Nepal s Journey to Federalism.-
Chapter13: Bridging the distance between Central and Local Level
Decentralizing experiences of Sri Lanka at the Local Level towards Democratic
Governance.
Chapter14: Womens Quota Panchayats to Parliament A New
Chapter
in Indias Democratic Journey.
Chapter15: Influence of Member of Parliament
over Local Government and its Implications Insights from Bangladesh.-
Chapter16: Dentralization Dialogue A Bibliometric Exploration of Governance
and Civic Dynamics in South Asia.- Part V Democratic Local Governance and
Citizen Participation.
Chapter17: Local Governance and Citizen Participation
The Role of Decentralization in Strengthening Democracy in South Asia.-
Chapter18: Empowering Communities Unpacking the Role of ICT in
Decentralization A Case Study of Bangladeshs Union Digital Centre
Initiative.
Chapter19 :Learning from History The Journey of Decentralization
in Pakistan.
Chapter20: The Role of Standing Committees in Local Governance
Challenges and Opportunities for Development in Rural Bangladesh.
Chapter21:
Governing the Grassroots Evaluating the Dynamics of Panchayati Raj
Institutions in India.- Part VI Epilogue.
Chapter22: Conclusion
Decentralization in South Asia Progress and Pitfalls.
Durga P Chhetri PhD is a Professor and the Chairperson in the Department of Political Science, Sikkim Central University, India. He is also the Director, Sikkim Central University. He has more than 25 years of experience in the academic and has an extensive research record in the areas of decentralisation, gender and politics, governance, social exclusion and indigeneity. He is the author of a number of articles and his recent books include Divided Spaces: Discourse on Social Exclusion and Women in India and Gender, Power and Democracy in South Asia. He is a recipient of Indias National Young Political Scientist Award.
Prabhat Kumar Datta PhD, former Centenary Chair of Public Administration, University of Calcutta and former Adjunct Professor at China Rural Studies Centre, Central China Normal University is currently Adjunct Professor of Public Administration and Political Science, Xavier Law School, St. Xaviers University, Kolkata. A former DAAD Professorial Fellow he has worked with scholars from many international academic institutions like Amsterdam University, and Danish Institute for International Studies, Deakin University, Zhejiang University, Jaotong University. He has published 28 books and many articles in national and international journals. His primary research interests include local governance and politics in India.
R. Lalitha S. Fernando PhD is a Senior Professor and the Academic Chair of the Department of Public Administration, University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka. She also serves as the Coordinator of the Ph.D. Program in Management of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce and the Course Coordinators of the M.Sc. in Public Policy and Management Program and the Master of Public Management Program and the Director of the Research Centre for Governance and Public Policy and the Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Governance and Public Policy Analysis (IJGPPA) of Department of Public Administration of the University. Professor Fernando Currently serves as the Vice-Chairperson of the South Asian Network for Public Administration (SANPA) and served as a Former Secretary to the NAPSIPAG (Network of Asia Pacific Schools and Institutes of Public Administration and Governance Network) from 2018 to 2021. She has published many papers, book chapters, conference papers, articles, and co-edited books related to Public Management, Disaster Management and Poverty reduction, e-Governance and Entrepreneurship both at national and international levels.
Aly Shameem PhD is an Assistant Professor at Maldives National University. He has a PhD in International Environment and Development Relations from the Global Change Institute of New Zealand and a Masters in Political Science from Dalhousie University, Canada. He also has a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Management from the University of South Pacific in Fiji. He previously served as the Head of the Maldives Civil Service. Dr. Shameems research specialization includes islands climate diplomacy, the geopolitics of the Maldives, ocean governance, and maritime security of South Asia. He was a trained diplomat too and served 11 years in foreign service of Maldives, including three times covering UN general Assembly sessions.
