Conclusion: Learning from the Case-Studies

Abstract

In Chapter 1 we learned that decentralized governance is generally regarded as the current global trend in central—local relations. Nations throughout the world are engaged in devolving or delegating power from the centre to lower-level politico-administrative territories. However, the case-studies in this volume demonstrate that things are not that simple. Global convergence is not the dominating characteristic in the patterns of central—local relations in the Asia-Pacific. We find that each country has an individual trajectory in its central—local relations, and that divergence rather than convergence best describes current patterns and trends. This does not mean that there are no useful comparisons to be made, or that there are no similarities between countries, or that convergence in some aspects of central—local relations is not taking place. Far from it — there are some common experiences, some convergence, and valuable lessons than can be learned from our case-studies.