Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World

It is our great pleasure, as Presidents of the World Organization of Local and Regional Authorities, to present the First World Report on Decentralization and Local Democracy. We hope that this report, which is the first of its kind, will help deepen and strengthen knowledge about the role of local governments in the contemporary world, and will enrich national and international discussions on the relationship between decentralization and development. The present report clearly shows that the world is undergoing a quiet democratic revolution. Therefore, even if important aspects of this process have yet to be accomplished, especially in countries in conflict (in the Middle East, Asia and Africa) local democracy is gaining momentum all over the world: from the African savanna villages, the highlands of Latin America, the barangay in the Philippines to the towns of Eurasia. (Preface, fragment)