The Politics of Decentralization

Natural Resource Management in Asia

Peter Vandergeest editor Chusak Wittayapak editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Silkworm Books / Trasvin Publications LP

Published:7th May '10

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Politics of Decentralization cover

Argues that the politics of decentralization is best understood as the terrain of negotiation and conflict

Brings together studies of the decentralization of natural resource management in seven South and Southeast Asian countries. This book provides an explanation of the key concepts and debates in decentralization relevant to the management of forests, fisheries, and water in the region.

This book brings together empirically grounded studies of the decentralization of natural resource management in seven South and Southeast Asian countries. It provides a clear explanation of the key concepts and debates in decentralization relevant to the management of forests, fisheries, and water in the region.

The editors draw on evidence presented in the book to argue that the politics of decentralization is best understood as the terrain of negotiation and conflict. This approach to politics stands in contrast to the common assumption that democratic management can be manufactured by decentralization programs designed by experts and governments. The diverse cases presented in the book show that decentralization can shift the terrain of struggle in a variety of ways, sometimes in favor of farmers, fishers, water users, and forest users, and sometimes to their disadvantage. Readers of this book will learn to be wary of centralizing forces that use donor-funded decentralization to stave off pressure for genuine democratization, and to identify opportunities to promote institutions that could be open to capture by democratic groups.

ISBN: 9786169005308

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 249g

246 pages