Editing Decentralization (section)

=== Systems approach ===
[[File:Decentralization.jpg|thumb|Graphical comparison of centralized and [[decentralized system]]]]
Those studying the goals and processes of implementing decentralization often use a [[systems theory]] approach, which according to the [[United Nations Development Programme]] report applies to the topic of decentralization "a whole systems perspective, including levels, spheres, sectors and functions and seeing the community level as the entry point at which holistic definitions of development goals are
from the people themselves and where it is most practical to support them. It involves seeing multi-level frameworks and continuous, synergistic processes of interaction and iteration of cycles as critical for achieving wholeness in a [[decentralized system]] and for sustaining its development."<ref>"Decentralization: A Sampling of Definitions", 1999, p. 13.</ref>

However, it has been seen as part of a systems approach. Norman Johnson of [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] wrote in a 1999 paper: "A decentralized system is where some decisions by the agents are made without centralized control or processing. An important property of agent systems is the degree of connectivity or connectedness between the agents, a measure global flow of information or influence. If each agent is connected (exchange states or influence) to all other agents, then the system is highly connected."<ref name=NLJohnson>{{cite conference | first = Norman L. | last = Johnson | title = Diversity in Decentralized Systems: Enabling Self-Organizing Solutions | year = 1999 | citeseerx=10.1.1.80.1110 | publisher = Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, for [[University of California Los Angeles]] 1999 conference "Decentralization Two"}}</ref>

[[University of California, Irvine]]'s Institute for Software Research's "PACE" project is creating an "architectural style for trust management in decentralized applications." It adopted [[Rohit Khare]]'s definition of decentralization: "A decentralized system is one which requires multiple parties to make their own independent decisions" and applies it to [[Peer-to-peer]] software creation, writing:
{{Blockquote|In such a decentralized system, there is no single centralized authority that makes decisions on behalf of all the parties. Instead each party, also called a peer, makes local autonomous decisions towards its individual goals which may possibly conflict with those of other peers. Peers directly interact with each other and share information or provide service to other peers. An open decentralized system is one in which the entry of peers is not regulated. Any peer can enter or leave the system at any time&nbsp;...<ref>[http://www.isr.uci.edu/projects/pace/decentralization.html PACE Project "What is Decentralization?" page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329030322/http://www.isr.uci.edu/projects/pace/decentralization.html |date=2013-03-29 }}, [[University of California, Irvine]]'s Institute for Software Research, Last Updated – May 10, 2006.</ref>
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