Definition of decentralization - What it is, Meaning and Concept

The first thing we are going to do in order to know the meaning of the term decentralization is to discover its etymological origin.In this case, we can expose that it derives from Latin and that it is the result of the sum of the following components:-The prefix “des-”, which is used to indicate the investment of the action.-The noun“ center ”.-The ending“-izar ”, which comes to express“ convert into ”.-The suffix“-cion ”, which is used to indicate “action and effect.”

The decentralization is the act and the consequence of decentralizing : delegate part of the power which exercised a central body to different entities or corporations .Decentralization implies a division or distribution of authority.

In the field of politics , decentralization consists of a transfer of power from the central government to various authorities that are not subordinate at the hierarchical level.to say that, in their sphere of interference, these authorities can make autonomous decisions.

If the State is centrally organized, local rulers are agents of the national government., in a decentralized state, local rulers can decide independently according to their powers.

Through decentralization, in this way, the central authority transfers competencies and resources to the decentralized authorities that carry out an independent and autarchical management.

When talking about the decentralization of the State we have to establish that there are various forms of it, among which the following stand out:-Functional decentralization, which is what occurs when the corresponding body is recognized what powers are specific of a single sector of activity in particular.-Horizontal decentralization, which is carried out by dispersing power between different institutions that have the particularity that they are at the same level.-Vertical decentralization, which is what has place when the power of the central government comes to delegate to lower levels, whether of autonomous community or locality, for example.-Administrative decentralization, which consists in transferring powers of what is the Central Administration of the State to other “legal persons "Framed within what is Public Law.Also, we can not forget the existence of fiscal decentralization al, mixed decentralization or the so-called political decentralization, among others.

The political decentralization , for example, establishes government bodies according to a territorial base.There may be, within this framework, municipalities with their own legislative bodies that dictate ordinances; these municipalities are part of provinces that have provincial legislators; the provinces, in turn, integrate an organized country as a federal republic with national deputies and senators.The councilors of a municipality, therefore, can issue ordinances that only govern the commune in question.These ordinances cannot contradict the principles of provincial norms, which in turn are subject to the ordering of national laws.

The idea of decentralization can also be applied to other contexts. decentralized education , to name a case, contemplates that knowledge can be generated and transmitted vertically but also horizontally, without reliance on a single source of knowledge that is located at a higher level.