In late 2000, Peru faced a crisis. Many argued that the future of democracy in Peru rested on its ability to decentralize and incorporate new actors into decision-making processes. Toward that end, the country's political elite devolved power to subnational governments and designed new institutions to encourage broader participation in decision-making. By 2002, Peru's participatory decentralization reform (PDR) had been finalized and the experiment began. This book explores the possibilities and limitations of the decision to restructure political systems in a way that promotes participation. The analysis also demonstrates the power that political, historical, and institutional factors can have in designing participatory institutions and affecting their eventual outcomes. Using original data from six regions of Peru, the book documents variation in PDR implementation, explores the factors that explain this variation, and points to regional factors as prime determinants in the success or failure of participatory institutions.