Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 26th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview I. Working Group on Local Government Author(s) Bakhytzhan Kurmanov University of Central Asia Bishkek Kyrgyzstan Yesdauletov Ilyas, Title Decentralization in Kazakhstan and Poland: A comparative Study File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Bakhytzhan Kurmanov Abstract Devolution of central government functions and responsibilities to lower levels of government is one of the most popular reforms globally and especially in the former communist states. Decentralization is perceived as a tool to political modernization, economic liberalization, as well as a device for governance and efficiency improvement. This paper will present a comparative analysis on government decentralization in two transitional countries: Kazakhstan and Poland. Both countries have a history of a centralized communist state and pursued aggressive market oriented reforms after the collapse of socialism. The case will inquire as to why decentralization efforts in one of the countries turned out to be a success and a failure in the other. Kazakhstan started its decentralization reforms in 2001 when the initial Law on Local Public Administration was adopted. However, after years of public administration reforms, country’s local governments are still considered as weak. As Bhuiyan (2010) points out Kazakhstan’s local governments are heavily dependent on central government for financial and technical support as they have very limited autonomy and capacity. Furthermore, because local mayors are appointed by higher levels of government with minimal accountability to local people there is little incentive for them to perform. In contrast to the experience of Kazakhstan, Polish decentralization is regarded as a rare success story. According to Levitas (2015), country’s decentralization reforms were carried out in two phases. The first phase being initiated in 1990 and the second one in 1999. As a result of these initiatives local governments now controls over third of all public expenditure and staggering 70% of all public investments. Because of successful decentralization, Polish local governments managed to improve country’s schooling system, transport infrastructure, urban spaces, etc. In this study authors will identify the key factors that predetermined the success of Polish reforms and examine potential opportunities and limitations of similar reforms in Kazakhstan. The comparative analysis will be based on thorough literature review that will include academic journals, government documents, analytical reports, etc. This comparative study will be of particular interest to practitioners in light of the brand new law On Development of Local Self-Government, which was presented in Kazakhstan’s parliament in September of 2016. According to the Minister of National Economy the law heavily relies on Polish experience of decentralization. Specific attention will be given to the most recent reform (2015-2017) of the Kazakh Government to transfer functions from central to local level. The authors will provide a critical analysis of the Kazakh devolution reforms and compare it with the Polish experience.
