UPSC Prelims 2017 Question:

Local self-government can be best explained as an exercise in

Keywords

Explanation

Federalism 

• Federalism is a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government. 
• Generally, an overarching national government is responsible for broader governance of larger territorial areas, while the smaller subdivisions, states, and cities govern the issues of local concern.
• Both the national government and the smaller political subdivisions have the power to make laws and both have a certain level of autonomy from each other.  

Administrative delegation

• Delegation is a more extensive form of decentralization. 
• Through delegation, central governments transfer responsibility for decision-making and administration of public functions to semi-autonomous organizations not wholly controlled by the central government, but ultimately accountable to it.
• Governments delegate responsibilities when they create public enterprises or corporations. Usually these organizations have a great deal of discretion in decision-making. They may be exempt from constraints on regular civil service personnel and may be able to charge users directly for services.

Direct democracy

• Direct democracy essentially refers to a political setup allowing the public to directly vote on important political matters such as those concerning the Constitution, legislation, and treaties, instead of participating in such processes through their elected representatives. 
• This is the antithesis of the system of representative or indirect democracy.