Decentralisation and the Local State is the first comprehensive academic study on decentralization and local government in Bangladesh, blending rigorous theoretical perspectives with real-world political experiences.
The first three chapters offer an extensive theoretical framework addressing state, class, capital, and crisis drawn from both Marxist and non-Marxist discourses. Introducing the concept of the local state into Bangladeshi political theory, this book merges diverse disciplines — Political Science, Development Economics, Political Sociology, Urban Sociology, Development Anthropology, Political History, and Public Administration — to offer a groundbreaking approach to studying local politics and central-local relations.
The study moves from a global perspective to a deeply specific focus on Bangladesh’s political history of local governance. Theories of decentralisation are examined through the lenses of democracy, development, and politics, while rich comparative analyses with India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UK, Africa, and Latin America add global context.
This is an essential resource for scholars, policymakers, students of political economy, and anyone working with decentralisation, governance, and local government reform.