Decentralisation, informal governmentality and the scope of community participation and accountability in the develo** world: a view from Pakistan

Abstract

The mere introduction of local government is not enough in develo** countries such as Pakistan and community participation in decentralisation reforms is studied as a controversial issue in this context. The argument is that a formal decentralisation system which promotes participation is ineffective in the context of countries where, like Pakistan, there are deep-rooted informal rules such as the trend of military regimes for patron/client partnerships, local elites and patronage practices. Given this context, this empirical study of one province of Pakistan, Sindh, where there are persistent practices of informal settings of corruption, clientelism and an absence of the rule of law, the new formal rules of the local government could not empower the people but instead made these informal rules more aggressive. Using qualitative data collected through field work, the findings suggest that the local government rules which were promoted and expected by the international development agencies were ineffective because of the antagonistic nature of old informal institutions; the long-established elites even strengthened their positions.