Educational decentralisation in post-conflict societies: approaches and constraints

Abstract

The article proposes that the power of local government to design and deliver educational services contributing to long-term conflict transformation is mediated by two factors: the model of decentralisation adopted in the aftermath of conflict, and the decision-making model at the centre (power-sharing). It employs rich qualitative data collected during extensive fieldwork. It compares the design and delivery of education across three post-conflict societies with a particular focus on attempts to reform the Lebanese University in Lebanon, to establish an Education and Skills Authority in Northern Ireland and to rationalise the school network in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.