DECENTRALIZATION IN INDONESIA: FROM REFORMATION TO THE LOCAL REGIME

Abstract

In post-democratic development, decentralization is considered as a way to realize both economic and social equality. This is stated in the Indonesian constitution and is the aim of ongoing reforms. In line with the many post-reformation divisions of the new autonomous regions, it transpired that there were many problems regarding the strengthening of local centralization, which identified local regimes in these new autonomous regions. This study focuses on how the segregation that occurs within regional autonomy leads to an arena of power for the local regime in producing local power, and has even been made the symbol of families and groups. This symbol of power has regenerated from the beginnings of the post-reform period until the simultaneous regional elections in 2020. This research uses a case study approach to assess three new autonomous regions after the reformation: the Riau Islands, South Sumatra, and Banten. A comparison of the power arena model is conducted in each region, and these findings explain how the strengthening of the local regime is regenerated through various forms of power. This research is also able to reveal that regional expansion is a contestation arena for the perpetuation of local regimes in several regions in Indonesia, and to explain this phenomenon.

Keywords

• decentralization
• new autonomous regions
• arenas of power
• local regime