Khorshid Delli
North-Press Agency
Often the need for the decentralization in the administration and the governance arises for reasons related to the necessity of organizing the relationship between the center and the provinces, the governorates or the surroundings, which are reasons range from the geographical dimension and the difference in identity (religious – national – sectarian – cultural) reaching to economic, social and political reasons, related to how to achieve development, practicing democracy, local participation in the public life, distributing the wealth fairly, stimulating the competencies and enhancing the competitiveness, all of which lead to limiting the centralization which often confines power in a specific person, political party, specific nationality, specific religion or even a military institution.
It is noteworthy that, the concept of decentralization, whether in its federal, confederal or even autonomy form, has come a long way in developed countries, especially in Europe and the United States of America, and at the level of our region in the United Arab Emirates, while the concept of decentralization in governance in most of the countries of our region is viewed in a negative way, as the central governance which was formed in the countries of our region after the independence, looks at the forms of the local governance with suspicion, and is often seen as a conspiracy by the Western countries aimed at dividing the countries of the region, while the history of the region, especially after the expansion of the Islamic countries as in the Rashidun, Abbasid and even the Ottoman eras witnessed important examples of state rules, which was close to the concept of federalism today, as the form of the governance between the center and these states was based on two main pillars, which were loyalty to the ruler and the payment of taxes, while giving broad powers to the local rulers in managing the affairs of their states at various levels, and the rulers have come to form local governing councils.
In the discussing efforts to reach a solution agreement between the Syrian government and the Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria, the talk was made about two concepts of the solution, the law of the local administration proposed by the Syrian government, as this law was passed by a legislative decree in 2011, and it was known as Law No. 107 which came into effect in 2012. This law establishes a form of administrative law related to municipal administration on a service and financial basis, while the concept of the Autonomous Administration is broader, as it has administrative, social, cultural and political aspects in the areas under the control of this administration, and perhaps the difference in concepts here have a relationship with the legal and constitutional aspects, as each term has its own specific connotations under which the powers and their scopes are defined.
It is true that the local administration, as a concept, has an administrative, financial and legal position, but this position is delegated from the center or from its representative in the governorate, meaning that, it belongs to the Supreme Council of the Local Administration in the end, which mainly consists of the Minister of Environment and Local Administration, and a governor in each governorate, while the concept the Autonomous Administration is way broader than that, in terms of independency in administrating, plans and budgets.
In the controversy of the interfering points between the Local Administration and the Autonomous Administration, the former appears to be subject to interfering restrictions, its powers are just administrative and determined by the center in advance, while the Autonomous Administration isn't subject to such restrictions, it often sets its local policy and plans after it presents them to the center in the framework of the partnership not as an implementing agency. Accordingly, it can be said that, the local administration is delegated and is almost limited to authority in the administrative aspects, while the authority of the Autonomous Administration is acquired, which is considered as a political and administrative achievement together.
It is also controversial that the center, through its focus on the administrative side only, doesn't provide answers to the issues of cultural and political diversity related to multiple identities, while the Autonomous Administration presents itself as being able to express this aspect and achieve it within the civil state based on pluralism and democracy.
In fact, there are big differences in terms of concepts, as the Local Administration has more than one concept, is it just a local administration or a local governance? The same applies to the Autonomous Administration. What has the relationship of these types of governance to do with the center, and what is the extent of establishing that to a decentralization in the governance? Is the concept of this decentralization only administrative or political? In all cases, these questions and others refer to a number of important issues regarding decentralization, perhaps the most important of which are:
The first: defining the local form of governance and approving it in the constitution, in order for this governance to become an acquired right in accordance with the law and the constitution, and thus to create a political pathway which provides answers to the democracy and change.
The second: defining the administrative and political tasks for the governance of the Local Administration and the Autonomous Administration clearly, such a matter is very important to define the powers and the authorities in addition to the legal aspects of judicial recourse in conflicts or in power collisions.
The third: The extent of the decentralization, whether in the Local Administration or in the Autonomous Administration, and the extent of proportionality between the administrative and political sides.
Undoubtedly, these aspects, problems and interferences between the concepts of the Local Administration and the Autonomous Administration are important points to search for any political solution or any agreement between the Syrian government and the Autonomous Administration in north-eastern Syria, and these issues should be approached with an open mind away from the preconceived ideas and narrow views, in aspiration for a pluralistic civilian state that brings stability and coexistence to its people.