Decentralization certainly has had this effect historically. It limits power. In Medieval Europe, it was conscious effort
I think decentralization is instinctual. The problem for state entities, who are centralized by their nature, is how to suppress or confuse these instincts.
Power always thinks it has a great soul, and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak. And that it is doing God service when it is violating all His laws.
--John Adams