Abstract
Decentralization of governance is an important component of the processes of societal transformation in the countries of central and east Europe (CEE) and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Decentralization brings government nearer to the citizens, creating conditions for democratization of governance and for increasing its efficiency. Introducing a functioning system of decentralized governance is a demanding process that has to be carefully designed. It cannot be completed within a short time by a one-off legislative act. The reform rather requires a continuous attention and permanent fine-tuning and has sometimes to be implemented in several stages. To succeed, it needs a determined political support from the central government. Decentralization is also a complex process whose dimensions and prerequisites are not just political, legal and administrative, but also economic and cultural. Moreover, practicable approaches to decentralization are to some degree country-specific and they heavily depend on time and context.
This article has been inspired by a project elaborated jointly by Michal Illner and Hellmut Wollmann in 1999 for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as well as by a lecture presented by Michal Illner at the Regional Conference Decentralization: Conditions of Success, Yerevan, 26–28 April 1999, jointly organized by United Nations Division of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme. The lecture was published under the title Decentralization Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS after 1989: Aims, Problems and Solutions. In: Decentralization: Conditions for Success. Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, New York: United Nations Division for Public Economics and Public Administration, Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs, 2000, pp. 23–38.
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Illner, M., Wollmann, H. (2003). Decentralization: Lessons for Reformers. In: Baldersheim, H., Illner, M., Wollmann, H. (eds) Local Democracy in Post-Communist Europe. Urban Research International, vol 2. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-10677-7_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-10677-7_14
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