Making Democratic Decentralization Work in South Asia

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 India’s 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. Xavier’s 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 Master’s 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. Shameem’s 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.

• 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 Lanka’s 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.