Evolution of Local Self-Government in India.- Recent Developments and Debates in Local Governments in India.- Local Government in Bangladesh: Evolution, Reorganization, Center-Local Relation and Critical Issues.- Nepal in Crisis: Democratization and the Failure of Local Government.- Decentralization and Local Politics in Sri Lanka.- Pakistan: Experiments in Local Governance.- About the Editor and Contributors.- Selected Bibliography.
The book provides an analysis of local government in five South Asian countries; their evolution from the colonial period to present, and recent steps towards democratisation, decentralization, debureaucratization and fiscal autonomy. Most of these countries share a common colonial legacy and an administrative framework inherited from the British, yet, their paths to nation-building and political development have been quite deverse.
Dhirendra Vajpeyi, professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Northern Iowa, Ceddar Falls
