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Bringing the citizen back In: supporting decentralisation in fragile states - a view from Burundi

Gaynor, Niamh orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-5645-7032 (2014) Bringing the citizen back In: supporting decentralisation in fragile states - a view from Burundi. Development Policy Review, 32 (2). pp. 203-218. ISSN 0950-6764

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Abstract
While, in theory, decentralisation offers many benefits – increased efficiency and effectiveness of public service provision, reduced horizontal inequalities, and an associated consolidation of the social contract between states and their citizens, empirical evidence of these benefits remains limited. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Burundi in 2011, this paper argues that the current donor emphasis on institution building alone as a support to the Burundian process proves insufficient. Evidence is presented to show that current support, while consolidating the authority of local political elites, reinforces political and horizontal inequalities thereby paving the way for further disaffection and conflict. Reflecting back to the initial aims of the process, a re-orientation in support is proposed, moving the focus beyond elite state actors and institutions and bringing citizens back into the process of state building and transformation.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Subjects:Social Sciences > Political science
Social Sciences > Public administration
DCU Faculties and Centres:UNSPECIFIED
Publisher:Blackwell Publishing
Official URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12051
Copyright Information:© 2019 Wiley-Blackwell
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:23934
Deposited On:15 Nov 2019 11:38 by Niamh Gaynor. Last Modified 15 Nov 2019 11:38
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