Politics, policy and participation: business-government relations in Indonesia
Date
1988
Authors
MacIntyre, Andrew James
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Abstract
Questions about state-society relations currently attract great interest in
political science. In the case of Indonesia, much emphasis has been given to the strength
of the state and its relative autonomy from societal forces in recent years. This study
deals with the nature of the links between business, as one segment of society, and the
state in contemporary Indonesia. It is an enquiry about the extent to which societal actors
are involved in the shaping of public policy.
Dissatisfaction with existing scholarly accounts of the nature of the
Indonesian polity was an important stimulus for this research. Insufficient attention has
hitherto been paid to questions about societal constraints upon state actors in the formation
of policy. What is the scope for various types of societal groups to influence policy
outcomes in areas of special concern to them? To the extent that it does take place, how is
communication between policy-makers and relevant sections of society organised?
Three case studies are used to pursue these themes. Their purpose is to
illuminate the processes by which policy is formed in situations where the interests of the
relevant sections of the state appaaratus diverge from those of industry groups. The
cases used are from the textile, pharmaceutical and insurance industries.
There are two main strands to the thesis; one empirical and the other
theoretical. The first strand involves an argument about political and economic change in
Indonesia, and the increasing complexity of the relations between state and society there.
The second is an argument that existing theoretical frameworks for the interpretation of
Indonesian politics are excessively state-centred. In this context Indonesian politics and
the attaching academic debates take on a wider significance; for one of the main currents
in political science today is the proposition that insufficient attention has been accorded to
the state. Far from scholarship on Indonesia being insufficiently attentive to the state,
precisely the opposite has been the case.
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Thesis (PhD)
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