subsidiarity.

The principle that decisions should be made at the lowest capable level, with higher levels supporting when needed.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• principle of subsidiarity
• institutional subsidiarity

On the page

The principle of subsidiarity supported local decisions where the relevant capacity existed.

Institutional subsidiarity still allowed central support for matters beyond local capacity.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: criterion analysis, relative importance, potential and actual distinction, evidence interpretation. Disciplines: academic writing, institutional analysis, research and conceptual explanation. Commonness: uncommon.