Federalism and forms of decentralization

Decentralization has been sweeping the world as well as Asia since the 1990s. This chapter first discusses the various meanings of decentralization in federations and non-federal political system and argues that although decentralization is in-built in federations, decentralization may nonetheless take many forms in federations in Asia. It examines in detail the stories of decentralization in federations in Asia. In Asia, federation building (i.e., creating more units out of the existing ones) itself has entailed movements for decentralization. Here decentralization has meant mostly substate/provincial level devolution of powers referring to local self-government. There is in Asian federations another form of decentralization such as district/regional councils based on ethnicity and self-administered zones as in Myanmar. In Malaysia, local government remained neglected, with mostly nominated bodies, but with the neoliberal reforms their importance has increased manifold. In Pakistan, where the provinces suffered due to lack of adequate resources, the plight of local bodies was predictable. In India, the formation through election of local governing bodies, urban and rural, is now (from 1992) constitutionally mandatory and has since been performing a commendable role in the delivery of goods and services. Nepal federal structures are decentralized, but the assessment of their functions will require more time.