Policy design, non-design, and anti-design: the regulation of e-cigarettes in Indonesia

In this article, we propose a typology of policy design and non-design, with special attention to a category of policy making which we term, “anti-design”. We argue that contrary to the established literature, the opposite of design is not politics, but rather, a disconnect between problems, interventions, and outcomes. This disconnect can be caused by political forces but also by non-political factors such as incompetence, corruption, or global economic trends. We use an attempt by the government of Indonesia to regulate e-cigarettes to illustrate a scenario in which design activities are virtually absent. Making the distinction between design and the various forms of non-design is an important step in understanding the conditions that enable or impede rational mechanisms in the policy process.