Little analysis has been done of these types of parallel arrangements for
decentralized administration, however, or of their potential advantages and disadvantages
in weak states. Each of these parallel structures and arrangements
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requires appropriate policies, coordinating mechanisms, and administrative
capacities within governments to work effectively. When these preconditions do
not exist or cannot easily be created, parallel structures and arrangements for
development administration fail.
Rondinelli identifies the types of parallel and partnership structures that
international assistance organizations and governments use in weak states for
development administration. He reviews the advantages and limitations of these
approaches as forms of decentralized governance and government, the conditions
and circumstances under which they are likely to produce effective results,
and the factors that governments and donors should consider in using them.
Only by understanding these conditions more clearly, Rondinelli argues, can
governments and donors identify the kinds of technical and financial resources
they need to make these decentralized administrative options work better in the
future to attain their development objectives.
In chapter 3 Guido Bertucci and Maria Senese look at the impact of information
communication technologies (ICTs) in decentralization processes. After
examining trends in political trust, which highlight low confidence in government,
they analyze how ICTs can play a key role in promoting and helping the
decentralization process to be more effective and meaningful. They emphasize,
with some evidence from case studies, how ICTs can foster decentralization and
strengthen public trust in government by increasing efficiency, transparency,participation, and citizen engagement.