| The PhD dissertation looks into the behavior of elites in new local politics in the democratization process in Indonesia. The case study focuses on the decentralization of North Sumatra province, in which, -as elsewhere throughout the archipelago-, district level governments have been bestowed with a greater autonomy in local policy-making. Nevertheless, the abrupt and top-down initiation of decentralization (which was partly forced by international lending agencies such as the IMF) has created complexities within the patrimonial trajectory in Indonesia s politics. Instead of generating the role of civil society, the decentralization project encourages the rise of new political entrepreneurs, the local elites, to capture the political power in the provincial and district level. These elites mobilize followers by using the pre-existing ethno-religious affiliations in addition to corruption and bribery. After almost a decade of its implementation, the decentralization contributes to the state-society relations marred with patron-client networks failing to bring about the much needed substantial democracy in Indonesia. |
