Governance, Policies, Rules and Regulations in Indonesia

This Chapter elaborates on the role of public policies, public administration and governance in the process of sustainable community development in Indonesia. Various types of government and their characteristics, as well as the types of policies, are described in relation to their connection to the society. In addition, a classification and interpretation is presented of the role of the official authorities and the legislative context in this process. The Chapter is built up from a general theoretical framework to practical implications of local government onwards, and illustrated with several examples from Indonesia. Following an introduction to the democratic processes and principles, which have been operational in the recent phases of the political history of Indonesia, an overview is presented on the characteristics of good governance. Thereafter, the different spheres of effective government are described in terms of threats and challenges. Following the attention paid to the essence of local government in terms of the distance between the central and local government institutions, the Chapter concludes with a description of appropriate policies within the local socio-economic context, in which the indigenous culture is playing a significant role in reaching effective governance for the envisaged integration of the indigenous institutions to attain sustainable community development and poverty reduction in Indonesia.