Decentralization, democratization, and the role of regional and local governments in delivering services are key issues to development across the Arab world. While the tools and processes by which decentralization is carried out vary, the stated goals of these efforts are to create a more democratic system of governance and more effective urban management.

Countries across the Arab world have been engaged in a range of decentralization efforts. This book documents and assesses past and current decentralization policies and initiatives in five Arab states. Country-specific case studies are authored by Ali Bouabid and Aziz Iraki for Morocco, Sami Yassine Turki and Eric Verdeil for Tunisia, Myriam Ababsa for Jordan, Omar Abdulaziz Hallaj for Yemen, and Mona Harb and Sami Atallah for Lebanon. 

The common analytical framework is structured along three components: The rules and politics of decentralization, the legislation and practice of service delivery, and the fiscal structures of decentralization. Through the examination of service delivery cases, we identify, document, and understand instances of power struggles at the regional and local levels, and features that explain their varying successes and failures.