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Decentralization is a Dark Age Policy Card from the Dramatic Ages game mode in Civilization VI. It is available from the Classical Era to the Renaissance Era and uses a 
Wildcard slot.
Strategy[]
Many may rush to quick conclusions about Decentralization, either swiftly concluding its Loyalty bonus is far too small, or quickly deciding that its general applicability in wide playstyles makes it a clear standout compared to some of the other Dark Age policy cards. But keen eyes will see that the truth is somewhere in between.
While the Loyalty bonus is only +4, its existence purely within the Dramatic Ages game mode means it can often make that little difference between retaining and losing key frontier cities in your empire and preventing a potential tidal wave of disloyalty from wreaking havoc on your well-laid expansion plans. This is especially true the first few turns into a Dark Age, where the loss of cities may cause players to dramatically rethink their short-term strategy.
Furthermore, the obvious favoring of wide city playstyles means that although this policy's downside will likely reduce your 
Gold output in at least a few of your more established cities, it's likely the general benefits of going wide will outpace those minor, and more importantly temporary, penalties. Apart from anything else, the Gold one could save by not using this policy might just end up being spent on military units to reclaim rebelling cities.
Civilopedia entry[]
In the face of societal collapse (e.g. a Dark Age), some civilizations turned towards harsh rule from the center, while others allowed the periphery to become more and more autonomous – consider how the population of Constantinople emptied for smaller towns and farms as the Byzantine Empire declined. In this way, the center heavily subsidizes the periphery as a last-ditch effort to keep citizens’ hearts and minds, at least until things improve.
See also[]
- Decentralization in other games
