Revue des sciences politiques et des affaires publiques
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Analyzing Good Governance and Decentralization in Developing Countries

Malik Nadeem

This paper provides an analysis of the strategies of the neo-liberal economic paradigm operating through good governance and decentralization programs emanating from the global centers of power. The strategies of neo-liberalism can be found in the narrative of participation, empowerment, and civil society. It is argued that these narratives act as depoliticizing discourse. While it is true that developing countries have been integrated into a global capitalist order the logic of capitalism has still to gain ground and be fully embedded in the less-developed world. Owing to the fact that these developing societies are still run on the bases of hybrid economic systems (a mix of tribal, agrarian and capitalist systems) and practices, and the fact that the spread of capitalism around the world does not provide equal opportunities to all, the result is that these countries present a significantly distorted picture of good governance and decentralization.