The Promise and Perils of Devolution: Federalism, Regional Autonomy, and Ethnic Conflict

A large literature describes the benefits of federalism and regional autonomy for fostering peace and democracy in countries experiencing conflict among ethnic groups. Political leaders are often reticent about devolution, because they fear empowering political opponents or discontented groups that chafe under centralized rule. Yet, adopted early and generously in a conflict sequence, devolution has the potential to moderate it. In heterogeneous units (states in a federation, autonomous reg...