Policy Convergence under Decentralization: Lessons from Indonesia’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Main Article Content
Abstract
Research on policy convergence has developed very significantly in comparative literature. However, little is known about the dynamics of policy convergence under unitary systems, assuming that they have greater convergence than under federal systems. This research maintains that unitary systems present no less intricate dynamics of policy convergence than the federal systems. Looking at a decentralized unitary system, this research argues that the dynamics of policy divergence is primarily driven by a need to pursue responsiveness to local priorities. It assesses the case of Indonesia in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through qualitative and quantitative exploration, combining documentary and the named entity recognition (NER) methods. The main data were sourced from the selected national newspapers sanctioned by the Indonesian Press Board. The result points to several factors affecting policy convergence, namely, responsiveness, compliance, policy inconsistency, policy clarity, leadership, horizontal learning, and electoral politics. Of these factors, the most important one is policy responsiveness; that is, whether national and subnational policies converge or diverge is affected by the need of a subnational government to respond to local priorities. This research fills the void in the current research by understanding the interplay between domestic factors and policy convergence, thereby extending the debate on the dynamic of policy convergence under a decentralized unitary system. Working with the COVID-19 pandemic adds nuances to the literature on crisis-driven policy convergence dynamics. It also points to a practical implication on the importance of crafting better institutional arrangements on national-subnational relations to better respond to pressing issues in a more convergent manner.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Article Details
How to Cite
LELE, Gabriel.
Policy Convergence under Decentralization: Lessons from Indonesia’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Policy & Governance Review, [S.l.], v. 7, n. 3, p. 280-297, oct. 2023.
ISSN 2580-4820.
Available at: <https://journal.iapa.or.id/pgr/article/view/792>. Date accessed: 19 sep. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.30589/pgr.v7i3.792.
Section
Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Agustino, L. (2017). Pembatalan 3.143 peraturan daerah: Satu analisis singkat [the cancellation of 3,143 local by-laws: a brief analysis]. Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan, 3(1), 14-35.
Allen, M.D., Pettus, C. & Haider-Markel, D.P. (2004). Making the national local: Specifying the conditions for national government influence on state policymaking. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, 4(3), 318-344.
Arnold, C. & Franklin, M.N. (2012). Introduction: Issue congruence and political responsiveness. West European Politics, 35(6), 1217-1225.
Austin, S.E., Ford, J.D ., Berrang-Ford, L., Biesbroek, R., Tosun, J. & Ross, N.A. (2018). Intergovernmental relations for public health adaptation to climate change in the federalist states of Canada and Germany. Global Environmental Change, 52(August), 226-237.
Bennett, C. (1991). What is policy convergence and what causes it?. British Journal of Political Science, 21, 215-33.
Biela, J., Hennl, A. & Zons, G. (2014). Between deadlock and decentralization: Bargaining dynamics in federal states. Regional & Federal Studies, 24(4), 505-525.
Blanco, F., Delgado, F.J. & Presno, M.J. (2020). Fiscal decentralization policies in the EU: A comparative analysis through a club convergence analysis. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 22(3), 226-249.
Boushey, G. (2016). Targeted for diffusion? How the use and acceptance of stereotypes shape the diffusion of criminal justice policy innovations in the American states. American Political Science Review, 110(1), 198-214.
Budi, I, & Suryono, RR. (2023). Application of named entit y recognition method for Indonesian datasets: a review, Bulletin of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (BEEI), 12(2), 969-978.
Buehler, M. (2008). The rise of shari’a by-laws in Indonesian districts: An indication for changing patterns of power accumulation and political corruption. Southeast Asia Research, 16(2), 255-285.
Buehler, M. & Muhtada, D. (2016). Democratization and the diffusion of shari’a law. Southeast Asia Research, 24(2), 261-282.
Busch, P.O. & Jörgens, H. (2005). The international sources of policy convergence: Explaining the spread of environmental policy innovations. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 860-884.
Butt, S. (2010). Regional autonomy and legal disorder: The proliferation of local laws in Indonesia. Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, July, 1-21
Carter, A.V., Fraze r, G.S. & Zalik, A. (2017). Environmental policy convergence in Canada’s fossil fuel provinces? Regulatory streamlining, impediments, and drift. Canadian Public Policy, 43(1), 61-76.
Cole, A., Harguindeguyy, J .B., Staffordz, I., Pasquierx, R. & de Visscher, C. (2015). States of convergence in territorial governance. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 45(2), 297-321.
Debus, M. (2008). Party competition and government formation in multilevel settings: Evidence from Germany. Government and Opposition, 43(4), 505-538.
Dobbins, M., Niemann, D. & Martens, K. (2018). Explaining policy convergence and polity divergence in federal systems: German and Swiss higher education revisited. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 48(4), 607-635.
Dupuy, C. (2014). Actively cultivating policy similarity: A regional strategy in education policy in France and Germany. Regional & Federal Studies, 24(4), 451-471.
Ferraiolo, K. (2008). State policy innovation and the federalism: Implications of direct democracy. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 38(3), 488-514.
Gordon, T., Dadayan, L. & Rueben, K. (2020). State and local government finances in the Covid-19 era. National Tax Journal, 73(3), 733-758.
Goetz, KH. (2015). A question of time: responsive and responsible democratic politics. West European Politics, 37(2), 379-399.
Haffajee, R.L. & Mello, M.M. (2020). Thinking globally, acting locally–the U.S. response to Covid-19. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(e75).
Hannah, A.L. & Mallinson, D.J. (2018). Defiant innovation: The adoption of medical marijuana laws in the American states. Policy Studies Journal, 46(2), 402-423.
Heichel, S., Pape, J. & Sommerer, T. (2005). Is there convergence in convergence research? An overview of empirical studies on policy convergence. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 817-840.
Holzinger, K. & Knill, C. (2008). The interaction of competition, co-operation and communication: Theoretical analysis of different sources of environmental policy convergence. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 10(4), 403-425.
Holzinger, K. & Knill, C. (2005). Causes and conditions of cross-national pol icy convergence. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 775-796.
Howlett, M. & Rayner, J. (2006). Convergence and divergence in 'new governance' arrangements: Evidence from European integrated natural resource strategies. Journal of Public Policy, 26(2), 167-189.
Keating, M. (2010). Policy convergence and divergence in Scotland under devolution. Regional Studies, 39(4), 453-463.
Keating, M., Cairney, P. & Hepburn, E. (2012). Policy convergence, transfer and learning in the UK under devolution. Regional & Federal Studies, 22(3), 289-307.
Karremans, J. & Lefkofridi, Z. (2020). Responsive versus responsible? Party democracy in times of crisis. Party Politics, 26(3), 271-279.
Knill, C. (2005). Introduction: Cross-national policy convergence: Concepts, approaches and explanatory factors. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 764-774.
Krane, D. (2007). The middle tier in American federalism: state government policy activism during the Bush Presidency. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 37(3), 453-477.
Kropp, S. & Behnke, N. (2016). Marble cake dreaming of layer cake: The merits and pitfalls of disentanglement in German federalism reform. Regional & Federal Studies, 26(5), 667-686.
Lele, G. 2023. Concurrency as crisis decision- making governance: Lessons from Indonesia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Regional and Federal Studies, 33(3), 307-332.
Lenschow, A., Liefferink, D. & Veenman, S. (2005). When the birds sing: a framework for analysing domestic factors behind policy convergence. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 797-816.
Liu, W. and Li, W. (2016). Divergence and convergence in the diffusion of performance management in China. Public Performance & Management Review, 39(3), 630-654.
MacIntyre, A. (2003). The power of institutions: Political architecture and governance. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Manza, J. & Cook, LY. (2002). A democratic polity? Three views of policy responsiveness to public opinion in the United States. American Politics Research, 30(6), 630-667
Mathieu, E., Matthys, J., Verhoest, K. & Rommel, J. (2020). Multilevel regulatory coordination: The interplay between European Union, federal and regional regulatory agencies. Public Policy and Administration, Advance online publication.
Mintz, A. & Wayne, C. (2016). The polythink syndrome and elite group decision-making. Advances in Political Psychology, 37(1), 3-21.
Nicholson-Crotty, S. (2009). The Politics of diffusion: Public policy in the American states. Journal of Politics, 71(1), 192-205.
Nutley, S., Downe, J., Martin, S. & Grace, C. (2012). Policy transfer and convergence within the UK: The case of local government performance improvement regimes. Policy & Politics, 40(2), 193-209.
Radaelli, C .M. (2005). Diffusion without convergence: How political context shapes the adoption of regulatory impact assessment. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 924-943.
Republic of Indonesia. (2014). Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 23 Tahun 2014 tentang Pemerintahan Daerah [Law 23/2014 on Local Government]. Jakarta: Republic of Indonesia.
Rodriguez-Pose, A. & Ezcurra, R. (2010). Does decentralization matter for regional disparities? A cross-country analysis. Journal of Economic Geography, 10(5), 619-644.
Safa’at, M.A. (2015). Inventarisir persoalan UU No. 23 Tahun 2014 Tentang Pemerintahan Daerah [Inventing the problems of Law 23/2014 on Local Government]. Paper presented at the Conference for the Association of the Indonesian District Government. Jakarta, September 15th.
Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting [SMRC]. (2020). Wabah Covid-19: sikap atas kebijakan dan kondisi ekonomi warga [the Covid-19 pandemic: people’s response to policy and economic condition]. Jakarta: Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting.
Sayers, AM, Scholtz, C, & Alcantara, C., (2023). Covid-19 policy convergence in response to knightian uncertainty, Political Studies, 21(3), 625-635.
Schneider, A. (2003). Decentralization: Conceptualization and measurement. Studies in Comparative International Development, 38(3), 32-56.
Seeliger, R. (1996). Conceptualizing and researching policy convergence. Policy Studies Journal, 24(2), 287-306.
Sepos, A. (2003). EU policy-making in federal states: The case of Belgium. Regional & Federal Studies, 13(2), 57-83.
Siddiquee, N.A., Nastiti, D. & Sejati, N.A. (2012). Regional autonomy and local resource mobilization in eastern Indonesia: Problems and pitfalls of fiscal decentralization. Asian Affairs: An American Review, 39(1), 44-68.
Stecker, C. (2015). Parties on the chain of federalism: Position-taking and multi-level par ty competition in Ger many. Western European Politics, 38(6), 1305-1326.
Swanson, J. & Barrilleaux, C. (2020). State government preemption of local government decisions through the state courts. Urban Affairs Review, 56(2), 671-697.
Thomas, K. (2010). The thermostatic model of representation reviewed. European Political Science, 9, 533-543.
Thompson, F.J. & Gusmano, M.K. (2014). The administrative presidency and fractious federalism: The case of Obamacare. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 44(3), 426-450.
van Rompuy, P. (2020). Does subnational tax autonomy promote regional convergence? Evidence from OECD countries, 1995-2011. Regional Studies, 55(2), 234-244.
Warburton, E. (2016). Jokowi and the new developmentalism. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 52(3), 297-320.
Yusuf, A.A. & Sumner, A. (2015). Growth, poverty, and inequality under Jokowi. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 51(3), 323-348.
Zhou, S., Matisoff, D.C., Kingsley, G.A. & Brown, M.A. (2019). Understanding renewable energy policy adoption and evolution in Europe: The impact of coercion, normative emulation, competition, and learning. Energy Research & Social Science, 51(May), 1-11.
Zuhro, R.S., Mulyani, L. & Fitria (2010). Kisruh peraturan daerah: mengurai masalah dan solusinya [the regional by-laws conflict: problem analysis and solution]. Jakarta: Ombak bekerjasama dengan The Habibie Center.
Zuo, W., Zhu, W., Wang, F., Wei, J. & Bondar, A. (2017). Exploring the institutional determinants of risk governance: A comparative approach across nations. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 24, 135-143.
Allen, M.D., Pettus, C. & Haider-Markel, D.P. (2004). Making the national local: Specifying the conditions for national government influence on state policymaking. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, 4(3), 318-344.
Arnold, C. & Franklin, M.N. (2012). Introduction: Issue congruence and political responsiveness. West European Politics, 35(6), 1217-1225.
Austin, S.E., Ford, J.D ., Berrang-Ford, L., Biesbroek, R., Tosun, J. & Ross, N.A. (2018). Intergovernmental relations for public health adaptation to climate change in the federalist states of Canada and Germany. Global Environmental Change, 52(August), 226-237.
Bennett, C. (1991). What is policy convergence and what causes it?. British Journal of Political Science, 21, 215-33.
Biela, J., Hennl, A. & Zons, G. (2014). Between deadlock and decentralization: Bargaining dynamics in federal states. Regional & Federal Studies, 24(4), 505-525.
Blanco, F., Delgado, F.J. & Presno, M.J. (2020). Fiscal decentralization policies in the EU: A comparative analysis through a club convergence analysis. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 22(3), 226-249.
Boushey, G. (2016). Targeted for diffusion? How the use and acceptance of stereotypes shape the diffusion of criminal justice policy innovations in the American states. American Political Science Review, 110(1), 198-214.
Budi, I, & Suryono, RR. (2023). Application of named entit y recognition method for Indonesian datasets: a review, Bulletin of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (BEEI), 12(2), 969-978.
Buehler, M. (2008). The rise of shari’a by-laws in Indonesian districts: An indication for changing patterns of power accumulation and political corruption. Southeast Asia Research, 16(2), 255-285.
Buehler, M. & Muhtada, D. (2016). Democratization and the diffusion of shari’a law. Southeast Asia Research, 24(2), 261-282.
Busch, P.O. & Jörgens, H. (2005). The international sources of policy convergence: Explaining the spread of environmental policy innovations. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 860-884.
Butt, S. (2010). Regional autonomy and legal disorder: The proliferation of local laws in Indonesia. Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, July, 1-21
Carter, A.V., Fraze r, G.S. & Zalik, A. (2017). Environmental policy convergence in Canada’s fossil fuel provinces? Regulatory streamlining, impediments, and drift. Canadian Public Policy, 43(1), 61-76.
Cole, A., Harguindeguyy, J .B., Staffordz, I., Pasquierx, R. & de Visscher, C. (2015). States of convergence in territorial governance. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 45(2), 297-321.
Debus, M. (2008). Party competition and government formation in multilevel settings: Evidence from Germany. Government and Opposition, 43(4), 505-538.
Dobbins, M., Niemann, D. & Martens, K. (2018). Explaining policy convergence and polity divergence in federal systems: German and Swiss higher education revisited. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 48(4), 607-635.
Dupuy, C. (2014). Actively cultivating policy similarity: A regional strategy in education policy in France and Germany. Regional & Federal Studies, 24(4), 451-471.
Ferraiolo, K. (2008). State policy innovation and the federalism: Implications of direct democracy. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 38(3), 488-514.
Gordon, T., Dadayan, L. & Rueben, K. (2020). State and local government finances in the Covid-19 era. National Tax Journal, 73(3), 733-758.
Goetz, KH. (2015). A question of time: responsive and responsible democratic politics. West European Politics, 37(2), 379-399.
Haffajee, R.L. & Mello, M.M. (2020). Thinking globally, acting locally–the U.S. response to Covid-19. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(e75).
Hannah, A.L. & Mallinson, D.J. (2018). Defiant innovation: The adoption of medical marijuana laws in the American states. Policy Studies Journal, 46(2), 402-423.
Heichel, S., Pape, J. & Sommerer, T. (2005). Is there convergence in convergence research? An overview of empirical studies on policy convergence. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 817-840.
Holzinger, K. & Knill, C. (2008). The interaction of competition, co-operation and communication: Theoretical analysis of different sources of environmental policy convergence. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 10(4), 403-425.
Holzinger, K. & Knill, C. (2005). Causes and conditions of cross-national pol icy convergence. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 775-796.
Howlett, M. & Rayner, J. (2006). Convergence and divergence in 'new governance' arrangements: Evidence from European integrated natural resource strategies. Journal of Public Policy, 26(2), 167-189.
Keating, M. (2010). Policy convergence and divergence in Scotland under devolution. Regional Studies, 39(4), 453-463.
Keating, M., Cairney, P. & Hepburn, E. (2012). Policy convergence, transfer and learning in the UK under devolution. Regional & Federal Studies, 22(3), 289-307.
Karremans, J. & Lefkofridi, Z. (2020). Responsive versus responsible? Party democracy in times of crisis. Party Politics, 26(3), 271-279.
Knill, C. (2005). Introduction: Cross-national policy convergence: Concepts, approaches and explanatory factors. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 764-774.
Krane, D. (2007). The middle tier in American federalism: state government policy activism during the Bush Presidency. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 37(3), 453-477.
Kropp, S. & Behnke, N. (2016). Marble cake dreaming of layer cake: The merits and pitfalls of disentanglement in German federalism reform. Regional & Federal Studies, 26(5), 667-686.
Lele, G. 2023. Concurrency as crisis decision- making governance: Lessons from Indonesia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Regional and Federal Studies, 33(3), 307-332.
Lenschow, A., Liefferink, D. & Veenman, S. (2005). When the birds sing: a framework for analysing domestic factors behind policy convergence. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 797-816.
Liu, W. and Li, W. (2016). Divergence and convergence in the diffusion of performance management in China. Public Performance & Management Review, 39(3), 630-654.
MacIntyre, A. (2003). The power of institutions: Political architecture and governance. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Manza, J. & Cook, LY. (2002). A democratic polity? Three views of policy responsiveness to public opinion in the United States. American Politics Research, 30(6), 630-667
Mathieu, E., Matthys, J., Verhoest, K. & Rommel, J. (2020). Multilevel regulatory coordination: The interplay between European Union, federal and regional regulatory agencies. Public Policy and Administration, Advance online publication.
Mintz, A. & Wayne, C. (2016). The polythink syndrome and elite group decision-making. Advances in Political Psychology, 37(1), 3-21.
Nicholson-Crotty, S. (2009). The Politics of diffusion: Public policy in the American states. Journal of Politics, 71(1), 192-205.
Nutley, S., Downe, J., Martin, S. & Grace, C. (2012). Policy transfer and convergence within the UK: The case of local government performance improvement regimes. Policy & Politics, 40(2), 193-209.
Radaelli, C .M. (2005). Diffusion without convergence: How political context shapes the adoption of regulatory impact assessment. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(5), 924-943.
Republic of Indonesia. (2014). Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 23 Tahun 2014 tentang Pemerintahan Daerah [Law 23/2014 on Local Government]. Jakarta: Republic of Indonesia.
Rodriguez-Pose, A. & Ezcurra, R. (2010). Does decentralization matter for regional disparities? A cross-country analysis. Journal of Economic Geography, 10(5), 619-644.
Safa’at, M.A. (2015). Inventarisir persoalan UU No. 23 Tahun 2014 Tentang Pemerintahan Daerah [Inventing the problems of Law 23/2014 on Local Government]. Paper presented at the Conference for the Association of the Indonesian District Government. Jakarta, September 15th.
Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting [SMRC]. (2020). Wabah Covid-19: sikap atas kebijakan dan kondisi ekonomi warga [the Covid-19 pandemic: people’s response to policy and economic condition]. Jakarta: Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting.
Sayers, AM, Scholtz, C, & Alcantara, C., (2023). Covid-19 policy convergence in response to knightian uncertainty, Political Studies, 21(3), 625-635.
Schneider, A. (2003). Decentralization: Conceptualization and measurement. Studies in Comparative International Development, 38(3), 32-56.
Seeliger, R. (1996). Conceptualizing and researching policy convergence. Policy Studies Journal, 24(2), 287-306.
Sepos, A. (2003). EU policy-making in federal states: The case of Belgium. Regional & Federal Studies, 13(2), 57-83.
Siddiquee, N.A., Nastiti, D. & Sejati, N.A. (2012). Regional autonomy and local resource mobilization in eastern Indonesia: Problems and pitfalls of fiscal decentralization. Asian Affairs: An American Review, 39(1), 44-68.
Stecker, C. (2015). Parties on the chain of federalism: Position-taking and multi-level par ty competition in Ger many. Western European Politics, 38(6), 1305-1326.
Swanson, J. & Barrilleaux, C. (2020). State government preemption of local government decisions through the state courts. Urban Affairs Review, 56(2), 671-697.
Thomas, K. (2010). The thermostatic model of representation reviewed. European Political Science, 9, 533-543.
Thompson, F.J. & Gusmano, M.K. (2014). The administrative presidency and fractious federalism: The case of Obamacare. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 44(3), 426-450.
van Rompuy, P. (2020). Does subnational tax autonomy promote regional convergence? Evidence from OECD countries, 1995-2011. Regional Studies, 55(2), 234-244.
Warburton, E. (2016). Jokowi and the new developmentalism. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 52(3), 297-320.
Yusuf, A.A. & Sumner, A. (2015). Growth, poverty, and inequality under Jokowi. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 51(3), 323-348.
Zhou, S., Matisoff, D.C., Kingsley, G.A. & Brown, M.A. (2019). Understanding renewable energy policy adoption and evolution in Europe: The impact of coercion, normative emulation, competition, and learning. Energy Research & Social Science, 51(May), 1-11.
Zuhro, R.S., Mulyani, L. & Fitria (2010). Kisruh peraturan daerah: mengurai masalah dan solusinya [the regional by-laws conflict: problem analysis and solution]. Jakarta: Ombak bekerjasama dengan The Habibie Center.
Zuo, W., Zhu, W., Wang, F., Wei, J. & Bondar, A. (2017). Exploring the institutional determinants of risk governance: A comparative approach across nations. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 24, 135-143.