Research has shown that decentralisation of emergency policy and its implementation can support more effective emergency management. The potential of local authorities to plan and execute an emergency response therefore takes on added significance in areas facing natural or human hazards. Yet the efficacy of this role will be affected by the extent as well as the nature of local autonomy. 

This reflection on local autonomy in a state of emergency charts the experiences and actions of Israeli local authorities following the outbreak of war in October 2023, that saw unprecedented levels of community engagement and new areas of local authority responsibility. 

Despite the low levels of decentralisation in the country, as documented by several existing studies, the state of emergency demonstrated how the boundaries of local autonomy can be quickly modified in unprecedented circumstances. 

Based on conceptual analysis of different aspects of local autonomy, we propose various steps that could help address the challenges of decentralisation and improve emergency response, including coordination and integration of services and measures to accommodate variations in local capacities.