Abstract

While close to 8,000 local bodies operate in provinces, municipalities, and sub-districts, Thailand is a highly centralized state. This is largely due to control over provincial and district level governments by the powerful Ministry of Interior (MoI). In the late 1990s, substantial political and fiscal decentralization reforms were introduced. In particular, the 1999 Decentralization Plan and Procedures Act called for the establishment of a National Decentralization Committee and the formulation of a Decentralization Master Plan. However, with civil society and political parties generally weak, political and policy processes have often been dominated by actors who mistrust decentralization processes. Due to this, the administrative structure overseen by the central MoI has remained in place and become intertwined with the strengthened institutions of political decentralization. While they may seem to be opposed to each other, it is possible that these two distinct systems of accountability may complement, rather than compete, with each other.

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