Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: The Dilemma of Decentralization: A Study of Local Politics in Uganda

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Decentralization is considered to be a remedy for historical problems of authoritarian, inefficient, and corrupt government in Africa. The current emphasis on decentralization increases the importance of local governments and local elites. Yet, within a country, the performance of local governments may vary dramatically. Existing theories tend to focus on social and cultural explanations of variation in performance. Yet, these explanations fall short when one attempts to understand the ability of recent decentralization schemes to achieve stated goals. Many of the countries moving toward greater decentralization are found in parts of the world where patronage and clientelism remain crucial in deterring political outcomes. In neo-patrimonial societies, one cannot assume that decentralization policies are implemented completely, meet all stated objectives, and remain insulated from previously existing patterns of political rule. This project examines whether decentralization improves local government performance, and it suggests that the nature of local politics explains observed differences in performance across administrative units. In analyzing local politics, it is important to acknowledge the prevalence of clientelist or neo-patrimonial politics in Africa and throughout the developing world. The artificiality of national boundaries and the external imposition of state structures in most African countries explain the fact that national identities and feelings of community at the national level are relatively undeveloped. Consequently, the line between public and private is blurred by clientelism as politicians are forced to exchange material benefits for political support. Similarly, neo-patrimonialism refers to situations in which the line between public and private is shattered completely. According to Clapham (1982), public politics refer to situations in which political actors pursue the goals of the state, whereas private politics describe instances in which individuals or groups pursue their own well-being rather than promoting the general public welfare. This project examines the relationship among decentralization, institutional performance, and local politics in a sample of Uganda's administrative districts. Districts are sampled purposively to reflect diversity in several important characteristics They include region, ethnicity, date when the district was decentralized, and distance from the capital city. Local political institutions are expected to perform better in districts where politics is described best as public but worse in districts where private politics dominate. This type of research requires a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data and, thus, several data collection methods are used. These methods include archival research, participant observation, elite interviewing, and survey research.