decentralist
Anti-concentration advocate
A decentralist favors distributing power, authority, or resources away from a central location or governing body.
The term appears in political and economic contexts where concentration of control is seen as problematic: decentralist approaches to urban planning, a decentralist vision of the internet.
As an adjective, it describes such tendencies: decentralist policies, decentralist philosophy.
Divided governmental authority system
- confederationAutonomous entities united loosely
- subsidiarityLocal authority when able
- devolutionTransferring power locally
- home ruleDelegated local autonomy
regionalism · power-sharing · local government · municipal · canton · states' rights · bicameralism · intergovernmental
Transferring power locally
- delegationTransferring responsibility downward
- dispersionScattering across space
- diffusionPassive molecular spreading
- redistributionSharing out again differently
fragmentation · diversification · power-sharing · subsidiarity · networked · distributed · polycentric · federated
Independent management of affairs
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- self-ruleGovernance without outside control
- independenceFreedom from external control
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
empowerment · self-reliance · self-sufficiency · agency · free will · liberty · freedom · individualism
Common people as political base
- community-basedCentered on local groups
- neighborhoodResidential area nearby
- cooperativeJointly operated enterprise
- small-scaleLimited in size or scope
village · township · homegrown · local economy · community organizing · town hall · civic engagement · place-based
Philosophy rejecting state authority
- libertarianismMinimal-government political philosophy
- communitarianismPhilosophy prioritizing collective bonds
- anti-authoritarianismOpposition to concentrated power
- pluralismCoexistence of differing views
participatory democracy · egalitarianism · mutualism · bottom-up · secessionism · guild socialism
federalism
Divided governmental authority system
- confederationAutonomous entities united loosely
- subsidiarityLocal authority when able
- devolutionTransferring power locally
home rule · regionalism · power-sharing · local government · municipal · canton · states' rights · bicameralism · intergovernmental · jurisdictional
devolution
Transferring power locally
- delegationTransferring responsibility downward
- dispersionScattering across space
- diffusionPassive molecular spreading
redistribution · fragmentation · diversification · power-sharing · subsidiarity · networked · distributed · polycentric · federated
self-governance
Independent management of affairs
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- self-ruleGovernance without outside control
- independenceFreedom from external control
sovereignty · empowerment · self-reliance · self-sufficiency · agency · free will · liberty · freedom · individualism · self-direction
grassroots
Common people as political base
- community-basedCentered on local groups
- neighborhoodResidential area nearby
- cooperativeJointly operated enterprise
small-scale · village · township · homegrown · local economy · community organizing · town hall · civic engagement · place-based · hyperlocal
anarchism
Philosophy rejecting state authority
- libertarianismMinimal-government political philosophy
- communitarianismPhilosophy prioritizing collective bonds
- anti-authoritarianismOpposition to concentrated power
pluralism · participatory democracy · egalitarianism · mutualism · bottom-up · secessionism · guild socialism
decentralistcentralist
Favors unified authority
statist · absolutist · autocrat · totalitarian · hierarchist
- decentralized governmentAuthority distributed across regions
- political decentralizationTransferring authority to regional bodies
- decentralized powerAuthority divided across entities
decentralize, decentralization, decentralized, decentralizing, decentralizes