devolution of power
- noun
- /ˌdɛvəˈluːʃən əv ˈpaʊər/
- The government proposed a significant devolution of power to local authorities to improve decision-making at the community level.
- political devolution of power
That's a huge devolution of power out of institutions to individuals.
- That's a huge devolution of power out of institutions to individuals.
- Really, there's this devolution of power, so much of the power and the agency is sort of trickling down.
Examples
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Oddly, the devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland didn't disturb the system at all.
Blog text (31) -
Statism is destroyed as a result of the devolution of power to the localities.
Academic text (1993) -
That's a huge devolution of power out of institutions to individuals.
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Devolution of power from the center has, on the one hand, stimulated regional economic growth and reform.
Academic text (2000) -
Really, there's this devolution of power, so much of the power and the agency is sort of trickling down.
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The pact proposed substantial devolution of power to regional authorities to be established in the country's Northern and Eastern provinces.
Academic text (2004) -
Somaliland and Puntland have yet to implement devolution of power to local governments.
Blog text (26) -
The other was a lengthy, gradual, and, at times, almost imperceptible process of political reform and devolution of power to civilians.
Academic text (2000) -
The political and fiscal devolution of power to subnational levels of government has had a decisive influence on the role of local government in the implementation of nationwide social policies: local governments are now key players in the administration and implementation of many redistributive spending programs.
Academic text (2016) -
Moreover, constitutional engineering has sought to promote democratic legitimacy by assaulting the centralization of power in the national government through administrative, fiscal, and political devolution of power to regional and local governments.
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
Giving local offices and authorities more power to make decisions
A transfer of power from a central government to local or regional governments
A transfer of power from a central government to local authorities
Giving power from the central government to local leaders
Antonyms
How Extensive
- Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
devolution + of + power
The noun phrase directly combines 'devolution' (transfer of powers) with 'power', so the overall meaning — transfer of authority from central to local/regional governments — is compositionally derivable from the constituents. The linking preposition 'of' is grammatical only, and the construction maps transparently to similar expressions in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the component words would understand it.
Etymology
Devolution of power gives a simple picture: devolution suggests power moving down, so imagine people at the top handing keys or a baton to local leaders below. That's why 'devolution of power' means the central government passes 'control' to local or regional governments.