Book Review: Decentralization and Popular Democracy: Governance From Below in Bolivia

A recurrent debate in political science and development economics is how to incorporate citizens into the political process, whether this has any beneficial effects on the policy-making process, and, ultimately, how it affects the quality of people’s lives. Particular emphasis is made on the inclusion of historically excluded sectors such as women or indigenous peoples in the definition, design, oversight, and execution of their budget. From micro-project development experiments in areas ravaged by civil war or invasion to national and regional development policies, the dominant narrative is to promote citizen involvement in the definition of the policy choices that affect their lives. Political localism is seen as a reliable mechanism to bring the government closer to “the people”, devolving to local governments power wielded by central governments in order to increase democratic responsiveness.

These ubiquitous claims are, however, empirical questions that have proven difficult to test. Widespread decentralization during the last three decades has been accompanied by empirical work that is as extensive as inconclusive. Fundamental questions about the effects of decentralization on core aspects of governance remain open-ended. What happens when power is devolved to citizens? Is decentralization “good” or “bad” in a specific policy domain? How does it shift government responsiveness, if at all? Does budget follow citizen needs more closely once local governments are in charge of its allocation? Indeed, …