Political devolution: Lessons from a decentralized mode of government in Indonesia

The emergence of decentralization throughout the world has provoked question whether decentralization has played several important roles in fostering accountable and responsible governance. As the concept of governance expanded, so did thinking about the rationale, objectives, and forms of decentralization. Decentralization now encompasses not only the transfer of power, authority, and responsibility within the government but also the sharing of authority and resources for shaping public policy within society. One of the important reasons that drives Indonesian government to deliver a democratic decentralization is political motivation. This relates to the growing intention to local development throughout the country posed the need for political and administrative arrangement to meet the country’s diversity. This study describes and explores the nature and the process of political devolution in the context of local government in Indonesia, in particular assessing the political devolution performance in the regency of Jember. This article employs a model that combines Boex and Yilmaz and the Local Governance Barometer framework for assessing political devolution performances. The article focuses on those issues and on the opportunities for the local government to improve the most important basic needs of the people—education and health sectors in Indonesia.