Making Democratic Decentralization Work in South Asia: Looking Back and Ahead (South Asian Public Administration)

This edited volume examines the impact of decentralized governance in South Asia, focusing on historical and contemporary efforts in rural and urban areas. Written with the ultimate goal of developing an understanding of how local governance contributes to democracy, development, and citizen empowerment, the book highlights the importance of democratic decentralization, political will, and administrative support. Including contributions by a collection of international academic experts and practitioners, the book covers themes like conceptual issues, historical perspectives, fiscal decentralization, grassroots democracy, engendering local governance and the influence of information technology. Addressing challenges, sharing experiences, and suggesting practical ways to improve decentralized governance, the volume will be of interest to researchers and students of public administration, governance, South Asian politics, and development, as well as professionals working in related areas.

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.