Abstract Government arrangements in Southeast Asia have been typically centralized but in the 1990s the impetus of democratization pushed countries of the region into programmes of territorial decentralization. This was an entirely new experience for these countries and necessitated innovative arrangements for central – local relations. This article examines the experience of three countries (the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia). The findings are that although democratization provided the initial impetus the selected architecture of decentralization in each country has been determined by domestic political actors and circumstances. There has been negligible policy transfer and early indications are that although there have been some gains in popular participation, decentralization has not led to any marked improvement in service delivery. Also, while central governments have delegated authority to subnational territories they still exert control through fiscal and other means.