Suchergebnisse

This article aims to scrutinise the phenomenon of proliferation of local government units in Indonesia in order to understand how identity politics has evolved within and through the process of decentralization. In doing so, there are several points to make. The numbers of districts and municipalities in Indonesia have doubled within six years. Local governments have proliferated in the sense that the numbers of local government units have multiplied rapidly in such a short period. There were 'only' a little bit more than 200 units when Suharto stepped down in 1998, and that had more than doubled to 466 units in 2006. Interestingly, this took place in an absence of a definite plan, as the state showed its enthusiasm for decentralisation and a bottom-up process of decision-making. First, the state can no longer maintain its hegemonic role. Under the regimes of Sukarno and Suharto, the state possessed relatively effective technocratic and bureaucratic apparatus that ensured effective control over its people and agenda. Through technocratically equipped bureaucracies the state mobilised certain kinds of discourse that, in turn, defined what was deemed proper under the banner of ethnic and religious solidarity. Second, local elites play critical roles in the process of proliferation. Moreover, in many cases their roles have reversed since the fall of the New Order. Previously, they were co-opted by the state but now, they are co-opting the state. Why is that so? The state is well aware of and even too sensitive to the potential of ethnic-based, race-motivated conflicts, as well as secession (Wellman 2005). Indeed, conflicts did take place quite extensively in Indonesia for that reason. As a result, the state opts to accomodate the interests of local elites instead of confronting them. In other words, proliferation of local government serves as a strategy for preventing political disintegration. Local autonomy is currently the best available solution to ethnic conflict in Indonesia (Bertrand 2004). Third, the proliferation of local governments confirms the importance of territoriality or territorial attachment (Kahler and Walter 2006). Territory serves as a basis for identity politics. By establishing a new set of local governments, the central government still retains territorial control and, at the same time, local activists also have an opportunity to do so.

Drawn by globalization, Indonesia's governance has been transformed into a more decentralised and democratically shaped one in the pas decade. Given the scale of the challenges, its achievement deserves admiration. Yet, the remaining challenges, namely to ensure that decentralised democratic governance remains culturally deep-seated in Indonesia politics is enormous. The stage of the transformation has hardly reached the fundamentally required cultural change due to the lack of cultural understanding within the process of transformation. Since democratisation and decentralisation are, essentially, forms of cultural engagement of global political-economic powers, the article proposes to reframe those two processes as the kings of cultural transformation. Analysing along this line of thought allows us to uncover the fact of the stubborn obstacle that Indonesia has been facing to reconcile the intangible, yet, continuously-embedded clashes of sub-cultures. A kind of cross-cultural learning strategy is important for Indonesia to secure that agenda.

The backbone of the decentralization and democratization process in Indonesia is transforming to bring about participatory policy-making. In recognition of the degree of institutionalization left behind by the previous centralized authoritarian policy-making of the New Order Government, this article aims to identify the challenges that lie a head.

The backbone of the decentralization and democratization process in Indonesia is transforming to bring about participatory policy-making. In recognition of the degree of institutionalization left behind by the previous centralized authoritarian policy-making of the New Order Government, this article aims to identify the challenges that lie a head.

Various concepts, models or theoretical frameworksare on offer, to frame the public in fighting againstcorruption in Indonesia. They include: bureaucraticreform, good governance, civil society engagementetc. In response to the failure to bring corruptionfreestatus, experts unnoticeably tend to blame publicofficers instead of ensuring the accuracy and thereliability of the framework. This reflective literaturereview reveals such tendency. To begin with, it mapsout the logical basis of each approach, particularlyin conceptualizing the 'public', the 'private', andtheir relationship. The reliability of the approacheswill emerge as we link the conceptualization withreal life the public or socio-cultural context. The reviewreveals that analysis on corruption and its imperativeare ideologically driven, and hence, suffersfrom ideological bias. It obsesses with altering thebehaviour of public officers, which inevitably entrappedwith particular set-up. As liberal discoursetake place in non-liberal institutional set-up, thepublic fail to comprehend the nature of the problemsand the solution on offer. Instead of setting upcontext-specific agenda, public a dragged on variousforms of reform such as granting political rights,enhancing civil society, articulate more autonomyand alike. As overwhelming individual within thebattles against corruption overloaded with assertingof more public role, they encountered with difficultyin setting the boundary between the public and theprivate. As Indonesia has been endowed with differentinstitutional set-up in governing public affairs,corruption-free public governance remains elusive.This is because the reforms dismantle the existing powerbase, which actually is vital for winning the fight against corruptivesystemKEYWORDS: public, private, corruption

Religion plays an important but problematic role in complying with the prevailing global standard of liberal democracy. The root of the problem is actually the shortcut in institutionalizing political party as a modern set up for individual participation in public affairs. Despite its institutional defect, political parties officially serve as the only legitimate channel to enter the state through open competition. Hence, the need to win election resulted in mobilization of religious-based support, and religion serves more as commodity for solidarity making, rather than set of fundamental values. This paper examines the political pactices in bringing the principles of both democracy and religion into daily real life. It particularly focuses on the exercises of commoditizing religion by political parties. This commoditization of religion can be taken as clear evidence, the paper argues, that religion is ill-treated by the underperforming political parties.

Praktik mekanisme pemerintahan yang bersifat militeristik di Indonesia, yang bisa terjadi karena peran yang ekstensif dari militer di Negara ini, mewarisi kita dengan realita yang merusak, yaitu bahwa militerisme diterima secara luas dan mendalam di Indonesia. Dalam pengertian apa ia merusak? Mengapa demikian? Artikel ini berusaha untuk menjernihkan bahaya yang telah di tinggalkan oleh militerisme bagi pelembagaan demokrasi dalam Negara pluralistic atau menekankan pentingnya membalikkan proses reproduksi militerisme. Dengan menunjukkan bahaya militerisme yang menghalangi proses demokrasi secara umum, dan memajukan toleransi serta perlindungan Hak Asasi Manusia secara Khusus, artikel ini berusaha untuk menawarkan beberapa model untuk memajukan proses demiliterisasi

The term local self-reliance is chosen to incorporate the three concepts widely discussed on local politics in Indonesia: local autonomy, federalism and separatist movement. This article offers a critical assessment on the discourse on the issues by showing various blunders in interpreting am! then implement key political concept, such as the strength of the state, state-society relationship, and the relationship of local-central agencies. These blunders are rooted from the preoccupation of the instrumentality of the state. Aware of those blunders, this article suggests to analyse the issue from the framework of political movement.

Uncritical understanding of the notion of nation-state in Indonesia has led a discredit to ethno-nationalism, which essentially is the primary form of nationalism in favour of the secondary form of nationalism. The former refers to a shared imagination of being a member of ethnic group, and the later refers to a shared feeling of being a citizen of the state. Such a mistreatment of ethno-nationalism in governing the state has troubled the state itself as demand of more local autonomy sprang out. It is through a process of political decentralization that the state attempt to accommodate demand for expressing ethno-nationalism. The difficult process of negotiating transition toward a democratic order in Indonesia is eased by the state's capability to redefine the meaning of nationalism and local autonomy.

This article is ment to be the introduction to the special edition of this Journal. It outlines the discussion on the issue of violent and empowerment within the context of institutionalising a democratic governance in Indonesia. It envisioned a more indirect style of governance through a systematic reform inspired by the working of market mechanism. Institutionalisation of democratic governance requires not only empowered people but also capability for systematically transforms the energy for winning a conflict into a healthy competition

As norms and mechanisms, democracy has been set in place and the democratic political system is in operation, while the practical standard for expressing democracy is tightened, to make monolithic global governance. Those who fail to comply with the standards are subject to a kind of punishment. At this end, democracy becomes undemocratic, as opportunity to propose alternative ways of expressing commitment to democracy is hindered by the specificity of the prevailing regime. In response to this inclination, contextualized expression of democracy is inevitable. Context does matter, as important as the democratic values. The fact that unanticipated issues of democratisation keep emerging, signals the importance of reconciling the prevailing global regime with the particularities in matching local and national contexts. Yet, the contextualised expression is vulnerable to local and national subversions by the predominating power. Democratisation, then becomes a detailed craftsmanship nurtured by a testable commitment to democracy, in so far the country is endowed with commitment to the ethics of democracy. By using the case of Indonesia's still ongoing democratisation this article maps out the challenges in meeting the standard with the particularity. The analysis in this article provides insights in fostering the contextualized democracy movement in the Asia Pacific Region.

The logic of corruption has seemingly been accepted as a normal part of democratic practices. This article challenges this logic, referring to the successful example of Panggungharjo, a village on the outskirts of Yogyakarta.[1]Without romanticising this village and its experiences, this article seeks to show the decisions and steps necessary for realising change and breaking the chains of transactionalism. Change is only possible if both the supply of and demand for money politics are cut off. Transformation is only possible when changes occur in supply and demand. In other words, transactionalism can only be avoided in electoral politics when a shift in demand coincides with the stigmatisation of transactional practices.[1] Administratively, Panggungharjo is part of Bantul Regency. However, it is sociologically a sub-urban part of Yogyakarta City.

This study describes intellectuality as a practice of contesting truth in offering alternative truths aside from the existing truth. This paper aimed to describe how the truth regime is articulated by the subject of knowledge and a political agent, namely Ahmad Mustofa Bisri, in the 2015 NU Congress. At that moment, Gus Mus' practice of articulating truth by refusing the position of 'rais aam' was political. This study questioned how the regime of truth was articulated amid the power contest at the 2015 NU Congress. This study argued that, amid the practice of contesting truth, at the same time, there is a politics of value and idea articulation carried out by an individual who occupies a position as part of the intellectual. It is at the political level of the articulation of truth that novelty is described in this study. This study produced truths using text and context-based discourse analysis methods, including: 1). dismissing 'hubbud dunya', 2). fostering 'mind' and 'morality', and 3). it is strengthening 'legawing ati' in dedication. In contrast, the above markers are marker moments that reinforcer the primary marker, namely the regime of zuhud, articulated by Gus Mus by self-regulation (subject position) as ' a student' related to elements of discourse antagonism—the term of 'kiai' related to the position of rais aam.

This study examined intellectual politics, which seek to reveal the significance of the political acts of an intellectual. These actions are often surprising, but in the end, they provide references for the general public. The significant political actions here meant to provide a point of reference, when people are trapped in controversies and instrumentalist reasoning. There are hard to understand politics, but the results are clear: the general public gets references to judge and determine judgment. Politics takes place at the level of meaning, more than just a struggle of interests. It is a manifest in the articulation of ideas or values, not in the expertise in organizing, structuring authority, or struggling for positions. The results of this study found that the way out of rational-instrumental reasoning that dominates (mainstream) is communicative-rationality reasoning through communicative acts in public spaces. This intellectual study is expected to have an important contribution in developing a sub-study: articulatory politics.

Mainstream public policy theory has been heavily biased toward administrative approach which tends to oversimplify policymaking as internal process within state-bureaucracy. Policy process is perceived as nothing more than the exercise of authority even when legitimacy of his or her decision is undetected. In their attempt to assess the appropriateness of those theoretical presumption, the authors scrutinize the controversy within the process of developing a tourist resort: Bali Nirwana Resort. In line with the trend in renewal the studi of public administration, the authors suggest a more political, consensus-based theory of policy-process.