This article examines decentralization in its historical and political context. The main objective is to analyze the evolution of the concept in the light of changes in various institutional design forms. The emergence of the decentralized system of management in France, aimed at engaging citizens in the political process and political decision-making while expanding their political rights, led to the creation of a new form of the political organization of power. A review of the historical and geopolitical context highlights three stages in interpreting the concept of decentralization: as self-governance on the local level, as a regionalization incentive and as a multidimensional concept that includes both the encouragement of self- governance and the redistribution of powers between different levels of government in the political, administrative and financial-economic arenas.