Decentralisation

Blockchain technology is, in part, a proposal to resolve ‘the political’ through technical means: decentralised networks to solve the problem of authority; cryptography to coordinate and secure the network; and game theory and incentive design to solve network behaviour. This PhD thesis draws on theoretical work by Karen Barad (2007) and Jacques Rancière (Rancière, 2010) to ask the question of what matters politically in blockchain technology – both in the sense of matter as becoming material of a new mediation of the political, but also mattering in the sense of being of political importance to engineers, developers and communities forming around blockchain as a potential. Rather than treating blockchain as coherent thing to be either celebrated or criticised, this thesis proposes and attempts to draw out the ways in which the potentials of blockchain are negotiated as part of its political effects, looking towards these negotiations to understand how political differences are made and sought materialised. Three approaches to the political are articulated to analyse Bitcoin and Ethereum as case studies and shift their terms of debate. Firstly, addressing the question of algorithmic determinacy, an approach is proposed for critically understanding a blockchain proposition that does not immediately revert to a competition of control between ‘human’ and ‘machine’ through the notion of the insensible, drawing on work by geographer of the inhuman Yusoff (2013a). Secondly, drawing on political theorist Rancière (2010) a particular blockchain sensibility is articulated, addressing the question of the particular kind of ‘disruption’ that blockchain presents. Its specific provenance in political histories of decentralised network computation opens up political significance beyond its intersections with financial capitalism. Finally, addressing the question of blockchain as a resolution to the political, the thesis introduces the concept of dissensible as an ongoing potential for incompatible sensibilities and their negotiation.

As we enter the 1990s, scholars and practitioners of development administration in the Third World share a deep concern with its disappointing performance. Looked to as the primary agent of modernization during the optimistic first days of independence, many now blame it for the development stagnation of much of the Third World over the past two decades. Reinforced by the events of 1989 in Eastern Europe, calls for privatization and radical cutbacks in the state are increasing. Indeed, while the causes of Third World development stagnation are undoubtedly multiple and diverse, it is difficult to refute the charge that the hierarchical, bureaucratic, centrally-led strategy has not achieved what was expected of it. The question which faces responsible and concerned scholars, practitioners and officials today, is what can and should be done about all this? This paper recommends avoiding grand and precipitous changes in organizational strategies: indiscriminate privatization and dismantling the state, it argues, would be just as much an error as the earlier whole-cloth commitment to centralist-bureaucratic organization. Instead it argues that theoretical and analytical tools effective in making more subtle and refined choices among institutional alternatives must be developed. It presents a preliminary analysis of one strategy which might offer this, and illustrates how it can be used to design organizations more likely successfully to deliver services and sustain investments in the Third World.

Decentralisation facilitates participation and helps deepen democracy. Nevertheless, it has been confronted with diverse challenges in Lesotho. First, the process has not succeeded to improve participation relative to the traditional system that preceded it. Second, it pitted the chiefs against counsellors. Third, it is hampered by lack of financial resources, human resources and the central government's tendency to intrude in local government's affairs and dictate the course of action. However, the prospects demonstrate that there ispolitical will to decentralise although there is still need to addresssome challenges. Firstly, the central government has to devolve financial powers to the local units.Secondly, it has to ensure a smooth relationship between counsellors and chiefs and continue augmenting the budget allocated to the local government. Finally, it has to promote the use of internet technology and consider making chieftainship the last sub-unit of the local government.

L'Accord de Nouméa signé le 5 mai 1998 est un acte privé entre partis politiques calédoniens afin de trouver un compromis pacifique sur le statut de l'archipel de Nouvelle-Calédonie, qui a reçu une consécration dans la Constitution du 4 octobre 1958 après sa révision du 20 juillet 1998. Dès lors, constitutionnalisé, ce texte peut-il êrte modifié par le pouvoir constituant actuel ? Derrière cette question pratique, c'est tout le régime des actes intégrés ou référencés par la Constitution qui se pose...

Biological processes and methods have been influencing science and technology for many decades. The ideas of feedback and control processes Norbert Wiener used in his cybernetics were based on observation of these phenomena in biological systems. Artificial intelligence and intelligent systems have been fundamentally interested in the phenomenology of living systems, namely perception, decision-making, action, and learning. Natural systems exhibit many properties that form fundamentals for a number of nature inspired applications – dynamics, flexibility, robustness, self-organisation, simplicity of basic elements, and decentralization. This paper reviews examples of nature inspired software applications focused on optimization problems, mostly drawing inspiration from collective behaviour of social colonies.

The article discusses three decentralisation designs considered by either of the parties to the conflict in the east of Ukraine as instrumental in resolving the crisis: the devolution of power to local territorial communities, territorial autonomy of Donbas, and the federalisation of the state. While each of the decentralisation projects bears risks for territorial integrity and long-term development given the current level of state capacity, only the devolution of power to local territorial communities, if properly implemented, will delegitimise claims of the rebel groups in the Donbas region, prevent any secession attempts in the future, and strengthen the state.

Mondialisation, construction europeenne, multiculturalisme... autant de phenomenes qui bousculent la conception nationale de la citoyennete heritee du modele republicain. Pourtant, elle constitue encore le fondement du vivre ensemble au sein d'une communaute nationale. Moyennant, toutefois, la reconnaissance d'autres echelles de citoyennete

It is common to understand the governing of rural space as the outcome of a conflict between some romantic protectors of a lost past on the one hand, and the people who worry about creating economic values on the other. However, the power to shape the rural should not only be searched for in the open struggle between protectors and developers, but also should be analysed at the level of discourse, in the play between discourses about how to deal with the rural. In this paper I therefore present a modernist discourse and demonstrate how taken-for-granted truths about the rural – its history, its present and its future – are made possible by this discourse. Secondly, I will reveal how rurality takes on a different meaning in an alternative to the modernist discourse, emphasizing local and regional autonomy. In demonstrating that rurality is contingent upon a play between these two discourses, I want to provide some new insights into an important force behind the persistence of ideas a...

This research focuses on the examination of problems related to the national teacher performance appraisal system by the Thai Ministry of Education. It highlights major problems of the current performance appraisal system by delineating the weaknesses and pitfalls of the current appraisal system. The findings indicate problems to three major types; problems from the mismanagement of the system; problems arising from the evaluators; and problems arising from the applicants. These problems are the major constraints in accelerating education devolution and development. Therefore, Thailand's Ministry of Education should find the way to improve its method of teacher performance appraisal.

The interrelatedness between computer systems, networks, code, and traditional law and legal frameworks continues to pose a number of important and vexed questions. This report will consider one area of the relationship: legal recognition of distributed ledger technology (DLT) or blockchain applications. Specifically, registers appended to blockchains (thereby creating “blockchain registries”), and “smart contracts” executed on blockchains

Les premieres lois de decentralisation francaise, parues au debut des annees quatre-vingt, sont ici apprehendees du point de vue de hauts fonctionnaires qui les ont (mal) vecues. Percues comme un desaveu par les ingenieurs des Ponts et Chaussees, elles marquent pour eux − et selon eux − un tournant synonyme de declin, de perte de prestige, et d’incertitudes identitaires. Les formes prises par les recits de ce « desenchantement » viennent neanmoins rappeler la legitimite historique de ce corps et de sa « tutelle », le ministere de l’Equipement. Ces recits agissent comme des (re)activateurs de legitimite face aux potentiels menaces qui pesent sur leur existence. Cette sombre perspective pour le corps est egalement mise en scene par les responsables du ministere a la meme epoque, qui tentent de faire du desarroi de ces agents une ressource mobilisatrice pour l’introduction de reformes manageriales censees sauver le corps du declin.

Publication metadata ESIR is a high-level expert group that provides evidence-based policy advice to the European Commission on how to develop a forward-looking and transformative research and innovation policy. This will help drive Europe's transition to full sustainability. In this publication, ESIR offers guidance on how a ‘protect-prepare-transform’ approach can ensure fast learning from innovation by relying on smart and coherent policies, collaborative efforts across levels of government and decentralisation of governance, and most importantly the courage to direct research and innovation at the transformations Europe is facing

Gram Sabha is the lowest functionary of grassroots democracy in India. An empowered Gram Sabha is considered as the base for establishing a sound democratic system. The paper highlights the Pathalgadi movement as a critical way of empowering Gram Sabha through the case of Burugulikera village. The village witnessed the murder of seven people who opposed the decision of Pathalgadi supporters for abandoning the use of government issued identification cards to show their dissent to the government and unacceptance of their policies. This is basically a review paper which builds on previous research work. The paper elaborates the historical background of the Gram Sabha, empowerment of Gram Sabha in scheduled areas and its present status, analyses how Panchayat Extension Scheduled Areas Act, 1996 and Forest Rights Act, 2006 have enabled democratic decision making in Gram Sabha and the validity of Pathalgadi movement as a critical way of empowering Gram Sabha. The paper concludes that government must not intervene with the rights of the indigenous tribes but the Pathalgadi supporters must also understand that they cannot be violent and cruel with those who disagree with their way of showing dissent.

Četiri se glavna povijesna modela lokalne samouprave u Europi: francuski (napoleonski, južnoeuropski), njemački (germanski, porajnski), švedski (skandinavski, nordijski) i engleski (anglosaksonski), kojima neki autori dodaju i peti model, srednjoeurop¬ski odnosno model bivših socijalističkih zemalja, u nekim elementima međusobno sve više približavaju. Komponente te tendencije harmonizacije lokalne samouprave u Europi identificirane u ovom radu su traženje novog legitimiteta, instrumentalizacija lokalne samouprave, ujednačavanje kruga lokalnih poslova, potpora razvoju, uključenost u rješavanje teških društvenih problema, racionalizacija, diverzifikacija financiranja, privatizacija, teritorijalna konsolidacija, regionalizacija, policentrične urbane mreže, višerazinsko upravljanje, redefiniranje vertikalne dimenzije lokalne samouprave, kvalitetno upravljanje procesima decentralizacije. Kritički se evaluira stanje hrvatske lokalne samouprave po tim komponentama i daju određene preporuke kako bi se sustav lokalne samouprave približio standardima hrvatskog Ustava i Europske povelje o lokalnoj samoupravi.
Ključne riječi: Europska povelja o lokalnoj samoupravi, Europska unija, europeizacija, harmonizacija, lokalna i regionalna samouprava – Hrvatska, razvojni trendovi

This article discusses three main nodes of resistance (farmers, states and regional identities) to the BJP government’s farm laws and demonstrates that the linking wire between these three nodes is that these laws weaken the states’ federal agricultural rights through an increasing centralised agrobusiness restructuring of Indian agriculture. It also touches on the ecologically damaging consequences from the operation of these Acts through the destruction of locally - and state-based agriculture and its incorporation into all-India and global agricultural marketing systems. It argues for an eco-socialist vision to inform the farming laws debate in India as a critique of both the traditional right-wing and traditional left-wing discourses on agriculture and development. It concludes that protecting agriculture as a state subject within Indian federalism and resisting the influence of agrobusiness capitalism would be India’s key economic, political, social and cultural battle in the coming years. Grasping the seriousness of this issue would be a critical prerequisite of developing the perspective to strengthen federalism, decentralisation, diversity, democracy, local farming, small scale farming, cooperative farming and ecological sustainability.
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Something in common for Aragon, Enjin, Decentraland and Minetest. If we follow the vision of Enjin, all game assets should have real ownership, and value; If we follow the vision of Decentraland, all virtual properties should have registered ownership and real value; If we follow the vision of Aragon, virtual organizations are viably and securely democratic; If we follow the vision of Minetest, Minecraft should be totally free and open-source. Why not bring all those amazing visions into the same project? This is the purpose of this proposal: all Minetest blocks (and mobs/items) with value and being assets on Enjin, and worlds being Decentraland's properties and Aragon's DAOs (not exactly like an usual Aragon DAO). It will not need partnership with Enjin/Decentraland but only the use of their platforms. About Minetest and Aragon's funded team, they probably will need some cooperation on making a real-value Minetest; unless an Minetest plugin could achieve all of that described on this proposal. One of the utilities regarding Aragon's DAOs on Minetest, is that they can have their own "physical" installations for conferences, while keeping its virtual form. If you told about Bitcoin and that it haves mining, a Minecraft user should imagine he using a pickaxe for mining gold ores and creating Bitcoin after forging gold; If you told about CryptoKitties for a Minecraft user, he could ask if that is a plugin for bringing cute cat mobs for Minecraft; but if instead of mining with hardware, he could really mine with its pickaxe? and instead of selling Bitcoin, he could sell his ores, blocks, seeds, animals and other items? I believe on the open, entertaining, educative and free power of Minetest. Note: I don't have skills to make it working, but to propose it; then you're free to begin implementing it on a pull request and receive your grants. Full details / technical specifications Minecoin, as main in-game coin to store value as fungible coins Use IPFS for serving Minetest servers instead of centralized servers Use an identity provider for decentralized unique usernames, using Civic API where Minetest's plugins can use blockchain for their blocks/mobs/animals

Après avoir été une communauté urbaine (EPCI), le Grand Lyon est devenu une collectivité territoriale à statut particulier depuis le 1er janvier 2015. Outre l'évolution de ses compétences, son système institutionnel et démocratique est-il à même de créer une "société locale" la différenciant d'un établissement public à vocation technique ?

Dans ce travail ,nous allons traiter les généralités sur  l’organisation administrative, qui seront précisés dans la suite de l’étude, et nous procéderons à l’analyse empirique l’étude sera présentée en deux parties :
En premier partie , nous avons choisi de présenter  l’organisation administrative  cette première partie de travail nous a permis  de présenter le cadre théorique , les définitions  et généralités d’organisation administrative, ses fondements, ainsi que la distinction entre différents types d’administrations publique .
La deuxième partie ,du travail a été dédiée cas pratique .Nous avons commencé la partie par l’évolution  d’organisation administratives en niveau organisationnel, managériale et numérique, ensuite nous avons présenté  le questionnaire qui a pour objet de  mesure  la satisfaction aux citoyens, ses résultats et analyses .

In light of the recent education reforms in Italy (La Buona Scuola, Law 107/15) featuring autonomy and digital skills, this paper examines the impact of teachers' pedagogical autonomy on students' computer literacy. The empirical analysis is conducted using data from the latest cycle of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS 2018) in which Italy participated for the very first time. Our results show that teachers' pedagogical autonomy in itself is not significantly associated with students' digital skills, but that when combined with certain types of professional development, it can positively influence students' computer literacy. Based on our results, we argue for more localised resources and opportunities to be used for teachers to engage in reciprocal professional development via spontaneous peer support and learning over top-down standardised professional development programmes.

The book is based on the study carried out with the objective to understand the nature of participation of the people in the process of democratic decentralisation in Kerala through the People’s Planning programme, the nature, and impact of the Programmes on the livelihood pattern of the weaker sections, and the extent of their empowerment in the process of its operation. In the light of such analysis, the book takes a look at the concept of poverty itself within the sustainable development and livelihood paradigm. The book primarily aims at academicians, researchers and other personnel including the development administrators, planners and implementers, who are all interested in development themes. It is believed that it would be useful to anthropologists, sociologists, economists, political scientists and other social scientists, and all those who are interested in the issues of poverty, decentralisation, livelihood, empowerment, and sustainable development. It is also expected that it would appeal to the level of research and theory-building and cater to the needs of the PG level social science students, and research scholars as well. It would particularly be a valuable source of reference for students of Development Anthropology, Development Sociology, and Applied Economics, and for students of political science especially with particular reference to Decentralised Governance

La délégation consiste pour une personne, le délégant, à confier à une autre, le délégataire, la réalisation de ce qu'elle serait normalement amenée à faire elle-même. En droit administratif, cela signifie qu'une autorité publique permet à une autre autorité de manifester sa volonté et d'agir à sa place. Un ministre peut par exemple déléguer à un directeur général la possibilité d'intervenir à sa place dans tel champs d'action, l'Etat central peut confier à une collectivité territoriale la gestion d'une de ses activités d'intérêt général, ou celle-ci peut déléguer la gestion d'un service public dont elle a la charge à une autre entité. Classiquement, la délégation se divise en deux catégories : la délégation de pouvoir ou de signature. La seconde limite la liberté décisionnelle de l'autorité délégataire dont la délégation, qu'elle ne peut subdéléguer, est intuitu personae et ne dessaisit pas l'autorité délégante qui peut toujours intervenir en lieu et place du délégataire. La délégation de pouvoir dessaisit au contraire l'autorité délégante de l'exercice de sa compétence au profit de l'autorité délégataire, dans le cadre prévu par un texte et durant toute la délégation. La délégation de compétences est une délégation de pouvoir, dont l'étude sera limitée ici au domaine de la décentralisation. Si toute délégation n'a pas trait à la décentralisation, la notion de décentralisation renvoie par contre à celle de transfert et de délégation de compétences. En effet, ce ne sont pas l'élection locale, la tutelle ni les affaires locales qui définissent l'essence de la décentralisation, dont elles ne sont que des marqueurs. C'est bien l'existence même de personnes publiques territoriales juridiquement distinctes de l'Etat et justement créées pour exercer des compétences qui caractérise au premier chef la décentralisation territoriale. La délégation se distingue ici de l'attribution ou du transfert dans la mesure où elle déroge par volonté du titulaire à l'attribution initiale de la compétence prévue par le droit, qu'elle est temporaire et autorisée par un texte qui peut y mettre fin à terme, faisant alors revenir la compétence à son détenteur initial. Elle crée de plus un certain rapport hiérarchique entre le délégant et le délégataire. Le transfert, imposé par un texte, est au contraire conçu comme définitif et rompt tout lien entre le détenteur initial et le détenteur final de la compétence. Par simplification de langage, le terme de transfert reste parfois admis en matière de délégation de compétence, ou est confondu avec elle (CORNU, 2016), au vu de ses objectifs et résultats similaires durant sa mise en oeuvre.

The present critical inquiry of the theory of democracy starts from the perspective that much of what is widely considered as known, unavoidable or factual is not written in stone and that democracy (theory and practice) must strengthen its inclusive capacity starting from the grassroots in order to democratise itself. Realist practices and perspectives of liberal democratic regimes largely inform the mainstream concept of democracy. This study challenges them questioning categories such as people, representation, elite and populism. It analyses the relationship of liberalism and democracy and the ‘crisis of political liberalism’ emerging as a root-condition of forms of oppression and exclusion that mainstream democratic theory condemns without being able to tackle. This research questions the understanding of the liberal democratic canon for being a system of ‘political-colonialism’, which consists of a structural fractioning of society between few representatives and many represented where the latter have very limited political power with respect to the former.
This study examines the historical, philosophical, social and political grain of political-colonialism and investigates the alternative proposed by M. K. Gandhi. Gandhi’s civilisational proposal tackles political-colonialism and provides a participatory, decentralised and duty-based paradigm founded on the holistic vision of society. Gandhi’s alternative to hegemonic power and the structural separation between the representatives and the represented fosters the relational condition of politics combining wealth, ethics, passion and spirituality.
Gandhi’s assassination drastically abridged the conditions necessary for the practical implementation of his democratic Ideas. Despite this however, they remain strongly stimulating. While the consolidation of an alternative general theory of democratisation, that is able to contend with political-colonialism, seems impossible and undesirable, a number of socio-political activists, movements and organisations are providing portions of innovation that are making it relevant to investigate democratisation. The epistemologies of the South – as elaborated on by Boaventura de Sousa Santos – are a set of theoretical and methodological inquiries that search, valorise and translate the fragmented ‘emergences’ that are struggling against political-colonialism. By mobilising the epistemologies of the South this study critically engages with the intellectual and political struggles to democratise democracy and assesses and compares their achievements and failures.
The empirical work of this study focuses on ‘party-movements’ – political forces emerging from civil society and participating in representative politics. Their discourses symbolise critical stances against political-colonialism. Additionally, they present practices for the engagement of society in participatory processes dialoguing with the representative framework. The collected ethnographic evidence (gathered in a total of eleven months) was accomplished by analysing two party-movements, the Indian Aam Aadmi Party (AAP – Party of the Common Person) and the Italian Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S – 5 Star Movement). Qualitative data were collected through a reflexive methodology from the grassroots of party-movements on up to the national level (and EU in the case of the M5S). The analysis focuses on six categories: people, leadership-structure, ethical wave, participation, horizontality-inclusion and political line.
The AAP has inherited the Gandhian approach of the group India Against Corruption, a national campaign led by the social activist Anna Hazare. Belonging to this campaign was Arvind Kejriwal, who supported it until 2012 when he left to found the AAP with other social activists. The M5S emerged through the combination of the careers of the comedian-activist Beppe Grillo and the internet specialist Gianroberto Casaleggio (1954-2016).
The ‘Gandhian democratisation’ elaborated on here is only one, partial possibility out of the many (even mutually contradictory) possibilities that emerge form Gandhi’s rich and multifaceted inheritance. It is an analytical prospective categorisation that is applied to the comparison. While Gandhi propounded a comprehensive, metaphysically founded, socio-political structural alternative to political-colonialism, the AAP and the M5S attempt to engage with the existing system in order to democratise it. Besides the fact that the M5S makes no direct structural reference to Gandhi’s theory, it shares much of its democratisation discourse with the AAP. The richness of the thesis arises from the South-North translation proportionated by the epistemologies of the South between Gandhi’s civilisational alternative and the fragments of innovation emerging from the experimental political discourse of party-movements.

To make the administration in general and the district administration in particular slim and agile the Government has planned to delegate powers to lower levels. Apart from such delegation of powers, two strategies, viz. merger of ministries which are providing similar or integrated services; and empowerment of local governing institutions, can make the governance prudent and effective.

In response to the challenge of low costs airlines, several full service carriers (FSCs) around the world have created their own low cost subsidiary. In the UK, two successful examples of this strategy are bmibaby (bmi) and Go (British Airways). To compete with their low cost rivals, these subsidiaries need to create a similar low cost employment system and human resource management policies to support this system, which will be very different from that of the parent company. More importantly, in a 'customer facing' industry such as civil aviation, how staff respond to these management practices will have a crucial bearing on the success (or otherwise) of the airline. In this paper we assess the degree of decentralization of employment relations to subsidiary management at both airlines; we discern the man-agement style towards flight crew at the low cost subsidiaries; and finally, we analyse the response of flight crew to the management style adopted.

Literatura o polityce społecznej dotyczy w przeważającej mierze zagadnień z poziomu krajowego i ponadnarodowego. Badacze przyjmują, że wprowadzane rozwiązania instytucjonalne i kierunki polityki zależą w dużym stopniu od decyzji władz centralnych oraz ponadnarodowych procesów społeczno-ekonomiczno-politycznych, takich jak globalizacja czy europeizacja. Z tej perspektywy wymiar lokalny wydaje się mieć drugorzędne znaczenie. Postrzega się go jako miejsce „implementacji” programów opracowanych na wyższych szczeblach: krajowym i ponadnarodowym. W trakcie realizacji polityki społecznej pojawiają się wprawdzie różne trudności, lecz namysł nad nimi pozostawia się praktykom.

Dopiero od niedawna dostrzega się, że takie ujęcie ma zbyt uproszczony charakter. Można wskazać kilka powodów, dla których więcej uwagi poświęca się zagadnieniom lokalnej polityki społecznej. W pierwszej kolejności należy wspomnieć o zachodzącym w krajach zachodnich od lat 80., a w Polsce od lat 90. procesie decentralizacji. Powołując się na konieczność racjonalizacji wydatków, zwiększenie efektywności czy rekomendacje Unii Europejskiej, poszczególne kraje delegują część uprawnień na poziom lokalny, znosząc w ten sposób zastane hierarchie i zwiększając odpowiedzialność władz niższych szczebli. Decentralizację przedstawia się jako panaceum na problemy centralnego zarządzania i nieefektywnej biurokracji państwowej, pozwalające na dostosowanie działań do lokalnej specyfiki i potrzeb. W dyskusjach nad tą kwestią – podejmowanych np. w nurcie badań nad europeizacją czy governance – wskazuje się, że choć decentralizacja powinna zwiększać swobodę planowania i realizacji działań, to jednocześnie rozmywa kompetencje poszczególnych instytucji i zwiększa złożoność procesów zarządzania polityką społeczną. Ubocznym skutkiem decentralizacji są więc wyzwania związane z koordynacją działań między różnymi szczeblami administracji.

Zwraca się również uwagę, że w wielu krajach dochodzi do włączenia w realizację polityki społecznej nowych podmiotów: organizacji pozarządowych, prywatnych firm czy lokalnych społeczności. W efekcie polityka społeczna na szczeblu lokalnym staje się częścią procesu politycznego, a przestaje być – jeśli kiedykolwiek była – czystym administrowaniem. W celu realizacji, niektórych przynajmniej, programów konieczne jest budowanie koalicji partnerów i zdobywanie poparcia lokalnych elit. Popularnym hasłem obrazującym te przemiany jest choćby „partnerstwo lokalne”. Włączenie nowych podmiotów w realizację polityki społecznej zwiększa też znaczenie rachunku ekonomicznego i metod zarządzania pochodzących z sektora prywatnego, co opisuje pojęcie new public management. Relacje między administracją publiczną a innymi organizacjami opierają się coraz częściej na modelu biznesowym. Przeprowadza się przetargi, zawiera się kontrakty na świadczenie usług, które rozlicza się według kryteriów efektywności kosztowej. Polityzacja i ekonomizacja lokalnej polityki społecznej rodzi nowe zagrożenia oraz wiąże się z nieznanymi wcześniej wyzwaniami organizacyjnymi i kulturowymi, takimi jak konieczność pogodzenia różnych kultur organizacyjnych czy problem standaryzowania usług pomocy społecznej lub definiowania efektów.

W związku z tym pojawia się pytanie – i jest to trzeci powód zainteresowania lokalną polityką społeczną – kto ma zarządzać jej planowaniem i realizacją. Przestaje być oczywiste jeszcze niedawno przyjmowane założenie, że lokalna polityka społeczna powinna być domeną samorządu. Z jednej strony postuluje się urynkowienie usług publicznych, powołując się na doświadczenia takich krajów, jak Australia i Wielka Brytania. Z drugiej strony rozmaite ruchy na rzecz partycypacyjnych form demokracji dążą do ich uspołecznienia. Lokalna polityka społeczna staje się areną ścierania się różnych interesów i wizji dotyczących obecności państwa w tym obszarze.
Należy jeszcze wspomnieć o postulacie indywidualizacji usług polityki społecznej. Indywidualizację rozumie się trojako. Po pierwsze, pojęcie to oznacza nową filozofię świadczenia usług. Zamiast usług dostarczanych zgodnie z jednym, uniwersalnym wzorem (one-size-fitsall), działania powinno się dopasowywać – czy jak się to obrazowo ujmuje – „skrawać” do jednostkowej sytuacji (tailor-made services), szczególnie w przypadku osób doświadczających trudności jednocześnie w wielu sferach życia. Po drugie, tego rodzaju podejście zakłada, że zamiast odgrywać drugorzędną rolę, adresaci polityki publicznej będą uczestniczyć w procesie świadczenia usług. W praktyce realizacja tych dwóch postulatów okazuje się trudna, m.in. ze względów finansowych i organizacyjnych. Część europejskich badaczy podkreśla wręcz, że w wielu sektorach kluczowe znaczenie okazuje się mieć trzecie, inne, oblicze indywidualizacji. Polega ono na przeniesieniu odpowiedzialności z państwa na jednostki (opisywane np. jako prywatyzacja ryzyka), a także na stopniowym odchodzeniu od praw uniwersalnych na rzecz uzależniania dostępu do oferty publicznej od spełnienia wielu kryteriów behawioralnych (tzw. conditionality). Spośród obowiązkówobywatelskich akcentuje się zaś przede wszystkim te, które dotyczą pracy zarobkowej.

W polskiej literaturze przedmiotu są prace, w których lokalny wymiar polityki społecznej jest obecny. Brakuje jednak konkretnej wiedzy o zachodzących tam procesach i ich specyfice. Jeśli już się pisze na ten temat, to porusza się przede wszystkim aspekty prawne i instytucjonalne. Mniej zaś uwagi poświęca się kwestiom organizacyjnym. W małym stopniu uwzględnienia się również punkt widzenia policy-makers i street-level bureaucrats – ludzi zaangażowanych w planowanie i realizację polityki społecznej, nie mówiąc już o osobach, do których ta pomoc jest kierowana.

Przygotowując numer tematyczny „Polityki Społecznej”* chcieliśmy pokazać, że nie wszystkie pokładane w lokalnej polityce społecznej nadzieje są łatwe do spełnienia. Zebrane w numerze teksty dowodzą, że w gminach i powiatach mamy do czynienia z szeregiem zjawisk, które się zupełnie pomija albo nie przywiązuje do nich należytej wagi. Mamy nadzieję, że oddane w ręce Czytelników artykuły pomogą pogłębić krytyczną refleksję nad tymi problemami.

Mondialisation, réformes des administrations publiques locales, inflation normative, crise de la démocratie représentative, complexité des relations centre-périphérie ou encore tensions financières... Autant de phénomènes qui redessinent les contours contemporains de la décentralisation. Alors que le langage et la pratique de la décentralisation se complexifient et s'internationalisent, l'ambition première de ce dictionnaire encyclopédique est d'offrir aux lecteurs une source scientifique claire, précise et, autant que possible, exhaustive. Synthèse inédite, ce dictionnaire explore l'univers de la décentralisation, ses ressorts sociaux, politiques et culturels, son cadre juridique, ses institutions, ses acteurs et les politiques publiques mises en oeuvre. Rédigé par des auteurs aux compétences variées, tant universitaires que professionnelles, il offre un point de vue complet et nouveau sur la fabrique des libertés locales. Construit dans une logique pluridisciplinaire, pédagogique et pratique, il analyse les mécanismes de la décentralisation et ses notions fondatrices. Son index thématique et les références bibliographiques permettent d'appréhender les sujets dans leur globalité et de prolonger leur étude. Véritable état du savoir sur la décentralisation, ce dictionnaire met à la disposition de tous - décideurs, praticiens, enseignants, chercheurs, étudiants - un savoir clair et directement mobilisable.

Local government (LG) service delivery system in Sri Lanka has unique potential like many other developed and developing countries. It affects on day-to-day activities of citizens at the grassroots level. Generally, types of public goods and services and the way services are delivered by LG are frequently changing in the context of people’s expectation, changes in the technology, scientific innovation, availability of resources, and challenges that emerge either internally or externally. Though, several attempts had been taken to enhance service delivery of LG through continuous technical and financial assistance in Sri Lanka during last two decades, in most cases service receivers were socially excluded or faced problems in getting basic goods and service from the LG. This situation has emerged due to a number of factors such as shortage of sufficient and competence human racecourses, inconsistency politics, unclear powers and functions to undertake service delivery, poor public-private partnership, inadequate financial resources, inaccessibility to community for services, and poor public participation. Therefore, this study attempts to explore the challenges of LG service delivery in Sri Lanka. In view of this, newly constituted Matara Municipal Council was selected as a case study. Through this case, researcher tried to find the answers to research questions of what are the challenges faced by MMC in terms of better service delivery? And how MMC would overcome its challenges and what innovations and strategies would work to deliver the better service to the public. The study also tested hypothesis of constitutional and legal framework, consistency politics, institutional capacity and service delivery mechanism built up by public-private partnership at the micro level can ensure the better service delivery.

The study was largely guided by the service delivery models especially decentralization service delivery model and alternative service delivery model (multi-level governance model). Using these two models, researcher identified following as crucial variables affecting the better service delivery at the lower levels of government: (a) constitutional and legal framework, (b) consistency politics, (c) institutional capacity, and (d) service delivery mechanism. Taking these variables as an independent variables, analytical framework had been developed. This framework analysis what are the challenges faced by MMC in terms of better service delivery? And how MMC would overcome its challenges and what innovations and strategies would work to deliver the better service to the public? The study was based on both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative and quantitative data was gathered by using primary and secondary sources, and data was presented using texts, tables, chats and figures.

The major findings of the study is that though as a decentralized LG institution, MMC implemented several strategies and innovations, has developed partnership with the private sector and enhanced the public participation in the health service delivery process, it failed to ensure the better health service delivery to the public. The main factor for that it doesn’t has an appropriate constitutional and legal framework, institutional capacity, service delivery mechanism built up by public-private partnership and mutual understand between national and local political leadership. This situation leaded to emerge the various challenges in health service delivery include shortage of sufficient and competence human racecourses, inconsistency politics, unclear powers and functions to undertake the health service delivery, poor public-private partnership, inadequate financial resources, inadequate physical resources, inaccessibility to community for health services, and poor public participation. For the sustainability of health service delivery at the grassroots level, the study recommends mobilizing public to participate in health service delivery, introduction of new strategies and innovations, filling vacancies and enhancing competency of the staff, regularizing the Internal Auditing Mechanism, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the health service delivery through Five Year Plan and enhancing Public-Private Partnership in health service delivery.

DIRECTEUR DU MÉMOIRE : Monsieur Vincent DUSSART Professeur des Universités UNIVERSITE TOULOUSE 1 CAPITOLE 2 rue du Doyen-Gabriel-Marty -31042 Toulouse cedex 9 -France -Tél. : 05 61 63 35 00 -Fax : 05 61 63 37 98 -www.ut-capitole.fr L. Garcia -Les relations financières et fiscales dans l'intercommunalité 2 Remerciements Je tiens à remercier en tout premier lieu le Professeur Vincent DUSSART qui m'a donné la possibilité et la chance, car oui c'était une véritable chance, d'effectuer ce travail de recherche autour d'un sujet dont l'intérêt nous est commun, celui des finances publiques locales intercommunales. Diplômé d'une formation très professionnalisante (Master 2 Droit des Collectivités Territoriales) où le travail de recherche n'était pas de prime abord une évidence pour moi, ses conseils, sa disponibilité, ses réflexions et sa confiance n'ont permis d'apprécier, avec agréable surprise, ce travail de recherche et confirmer mon intention de continuer dans ce domaine. Je remercie également mon ancienne directrice de Master 2, Madame Nathalie LAVAL-MADER qui a toujours su me conseiller avec justesse et encouragement. Sans sa bienveillance et son optimisme, la décision de faire ce complément d'étude et de rédiger ce mémoire m'aurait été surement plus difficile à prendre. Enfin je souhaite remercier ma famille, mes amis et mes proches qui m'ont toujours soutenu dans un moment particulier qui est celui d'une reprise d'étude. D'une aide très précieuse et nécessaire, ils m'ont permis de relever la tête quand il le fallait et d'être performant au quotidien.

This research, conducted by the author when a Senior Researcher at Newcastle University, UK, was funded by a UK governance organisation to help them assess, integrate and improve their understanding of the governed population.

ABSTRACT: Governance organisations have been urged to develop more holistic evidence-based approaches with partners to better deal with issues affecting the governed population. This presupposes an understanding of the population, yet there has been little research work addressing how governance organisations come to understand their governed population, nor how this understanding can be improved upon within such organisations.

This case study examined in-depth how understanding of a governed population was developed within one UK local governance organisation and it explored how such understanding might be developed and improved through more holistic and evidence-based organisational learning within the organisation and its governance partnerships.

The research methodology involved placement within the governance organisation, participant observations on several projects and innovative initiatives, observations within, across, and outside the organisation, and also interviews with varied key stakeholders.

The study examined:

- stakeholder engagement and networks
- current and varied understandings of the population
- mechanisms actually used for developing understandings
- the influence of context on organisational learning

and analysed these to arrive at a recommendations to improve organisational understanding of the governed population.

In the case studied, significant strengths were found: including innovative past learning trials for development, extensive ongoing networking activities, and many varied and accumulating quantitative datasets available across partnerships.

However, entrenched organisational approaches and practices constrained the development of holistic evidence-based understanding, for instance: the absence of systematic maintained collective learning processes; weak recording and forgetting of understandings; methodological exclusion of stakeholders from the development of understanding; the relative neglect of qualitative data, explanations, investigations, interpretations, and reflexivity; and also implicit organisational acceptance of such limitations and low aspirations.

Nonetheless, untapped opportunities existed to enable change including: latent practitioner knowledge and innovative management champions, the desire for improvement and raised aspirations within learning networks, and the development potential of alterative learning approaches.

It was concluded that more holistic evidence-based understanding was possible, but required new learning approaches beyond those then in use in both local government or academia.   

Recommendations are made to utilise and develop improved organisational learning approaches trialed and reported in the case study.

It is argued that the case study findings, conclusions, and recommendations may be applicable to other similar local governance organisations and partnerships that seek to better understand local populations, services and interventions.

The work was also submitted for, and awarded, an MPhil (at Newcastle University, supervised by Prof. Patsy Healy)

Les spectaculaires progrès scientifiques et technologiques que le monde a connus depuis la seconde moitié du XXe siècle ont certes occasionné d'importants progrès utiles à l'émancipation humaine. Mais, force est de constater que la «vision capitaliste» du développement (le court terme, le souci de profits exclusifs…) et le mythe longtemps entretenu sur le caractère inépuisable des ressources naturelles ont, à bien des égards, engendré des désastres sociaux et environnementaux sans précédent.
Notamment la pollution, les changements climatiques, la diminution de la biodiversité, la dégradation de la couche d’ozone, etc. Leur ampleur varie d'un lieu à un autre selon le degré de civilisation industrielle et de préoccupation pour l'environnement  . Cependant, quelque soit notre milieu de vie, nous sommes tous interpellés par les dommages et conséquences qu’ils engendrent.
Dès lors, tant collectivement qu’individuellement, des choix d’équité et de viabilité s’imposent devant l’urgence de la dégradation socio-environnementale (Gagnon, 1994) .
Il importe donc «de repenser le développement» (Bartoli, 1999 ), «de revoir le mode de production industrielle et les conceptions mêmes du développement» (Gagnon, 1994 ; 1995). En d’autres termes, il faudrait réfléchir à d’autres manières de produire, d’aménager et de consommer, qui combinent préservation de l’environnement, efficacité économique et équité sociale. Dans cette perspective, avec la montée de la conscience écologique et le souci d’équité et de justice sociale.
Même s’il n’y a pas de réponse unique et unanime à ces questions, le chapitre 28 d’Agenda 21 est, on ne peut plus, clair : «il faudrait que toutes les collectivités locales instaurent un dialogue avec les habitants, les organisations locales et les entreprises privées afin d’adopter un Programme d’action 21 à l’échelon de la collectivité» . Les localités sont également incitées à répondre aux objectifs de développement durable par un plan d’action à long terme basé sur une approche participative, multipartite concertée et multisectorielle appropriée. Le développement durable est ainsi «fondé sur un jeu, non pas à trois pôles, comme on l’indique habituellement, l’économique, le sociétal et l’environnemental, mais un jeu à quatre pôles, le quatrième étant celui de la gouvernance, sans lequel les trois premiers risquent de n’avoir aucune capacité opératoire».
C’est dans ce sens que nous en sommes venus à nous demander si «l’ancrage territorial du développement durable» (Benhayoun et al., 1999)  ne passerait-il pas par un véritable exercice de la gouvernance locale et participative. Plus concrètement, au moment où l’on invite de plus en plus les collectivités rurales à renforcer leur «capacité de développement» (capacity building), la «gouvernance» ne jouerait-elle pas un rôle majeur dans le processus conduisant au développement territorial approprié ? C’est à ces questions ce que nous essayerons répondre à travers la présente étude, mais avant de pousser l’analyse plus loin, il conviendrait de s’arrêter sur le sens même du mot gouvernance ainsi que son évolution historique.
La gouvernance est un terme polysémique , apolitique, qui peut susciter des ambiguïtés et des confusions ; cependant, cette notion est indéniablement source de richesses, notamment parce qu’elle renvoie à une multitude de facettes et favorise la rencontre entre disciplines. Celles-ci se complètent pour participer à la construction d’un terme susceptible de rendre compte de processus originaux dans les domaines socio-économique et politique.
De ce fait, au cours de la dernière décennie, les domaines d’application de la notion de gouvernance se sont multipliés. Dans la mesure où les problèmes de coordination entre acteurs se déclinent à la fois au niveau de l’État, de la ville, de l’entreprise, de l’ordre mondial, il est désormais question de gouvernance locale, de gouvernance urbaine, de gouvernance d’entreprise, de gouvernance de l’emploi, de gouvernance mondiale, de gouvernance des régions européennes ou de gouvernance multiniveaux, pour ne citer que les notions les plus fréquemment étudiées à l’heure actuelle.
Cette polysémie rend difficile une définition unique, stabilisée, de la gouvernance. Un détour par l’étymologie du terme permet pourtant de proposer un cadre général dans lequel inscrire les définitions de la gouvernance.
Afin de pouvoir comprendre les transformations que décrit la notion de gouvernance, il est indispensable d’observer le chemin sinueux emprunté par le terme de gouvernance ainsi que son évolution historique et théorique. En effet, les différents sens pris par ce mot au cours des siècles sont autant d’éléments explicatifs des termes des débats actuels.

Démocratie et Décentralisation : un couple platonique ? (revue Civitas Europa-n° 11-septembre 2003, pp.7-29)
Christophe CHABROT
I-L'indifférence technique des deux notions
A/ Deux notions spécifiques
1°) La démocratie, technique de désignation politique
2°) Une décentralisation d'essence administrative
B/ Un rapport juridiquement indifférent
1°) La démocratie sans décentralisation
2°) La décentralisation sans démocratie

II-Une conjonction volontariste imparfaite
A/ L'affirmation nouvelle d'une « démocratie de proximité »
1°) L'implication des citoyens
2°) La permanence d'une décision « autoritaire »
B/ Une « démocratie locale » encore à définir
1°) L'impossible comparaison avec la démocratie nationale
2°) Une refondation sur des critères propres

Annotation
After regaining the independence, Georgia had to undertake multiple systemic changes during the transformation period. The process has lasted more than 25 year by now with some success. One of the most complicated dimensions turned out to be the administrative-territorial reform. The initial hindrance in it was declaration of self-proclaimed states by the separatist forces in the regions of Georgia, and later, after five-day Russia-Georgia war, recognition of these regions as states by Russian Federation in 2008.
Current Constitution of Georgia (1995) determined that “state-territorial arrangement of Georgia will be stipulated by the constitutional Law based on the principle of separation of powers after regaining the jurisdiction by Georgia on whole territory of the country (art.2, para 3.).
After Russian-Georgian war in 2008, Russian Federation expanded territory beyond previous separatist regions by additionally occupying Akhalgori Municipality and Azhara Municipality. This situation made Constitutional provision even more strict and complicated, though it is impossible to execute statehood without territorial arrangement.
After recuperating independence, the steps have been made toward decentralization and deconcentration of powers. On different stages the changes made were contradictory. Though in 2004, after ratifying “European Charter on Local Self-Governance” the process of decentralization gained clearer framework for development. Of course this fact can’t prevent time waste but can ensure that the process initiated can’t be reversed.
The LSG reform based on decentralization and deconcentration concepts is still active and includes regional development issues as well. The paper addresses the issue of regionalization policy and tries to analyze the reasons for delays to introduce regional governance one of which is the lack of hereditary principle when there is next power shift in the country and starting all over again.
The lack of theoretical elaboration of these issues and different understanding of region and regionalization is of crucial importance for smoother process. The main supposition is to equal the regionalization with separatism, which is enforced by the forces fighting for the federalization of Georgia as they are trying to implement it through regionalization. The Paper focuses on rich European experience to implement regionalization that can be implemented both in unitary as well as federal states.
The author supports establishment of Development Regions which based on European regionalization concept can give country opportunities to explore and use the unexplored capacities of economic growth and development. For this purpose the importance of real local self-governance is underscored for the success of regionalization. The issues are discussed in historic and logical order. The story of latest “Code on LSG” is been analyzed, that hugely influenced its final content and first results of the Code implementation is discussed.
The author supports development of two-level self-government but on local, not regional level. But main focus should be ensuring current LSG units with proper financial resources to its own competences and for this purpose, creation of sustainable financial-economic basis for local authorities and ceasing full dependence on central authorities as it is up to date.
The vision for establishment of Development Regions is discussed in the prism of current Association with European Union which should make Regional Development Strategy from formal paper into real development tool through its Action Plan. The Paper contains conclusions and recommendations.