Populist Government and Constitutional Democracy

Until the first decade of the 21th century, scholars and reporters have identified contemporary populism as an element of anti-systemic revolt; furthermore, they have also recognized an incompatibility between populist phenomenon and government function. However, some recent cases of populist parties in power seem to be able to put into crisis more than one certainty regarding the nature and scope of the populist phenomenon. This observation raises the questions of this work: what harmful effects does populism in government produce on liberal institutions, pluralism, and representation in constitutional democracies? Do these effects merely erode the liberal component, or do they extend to produce a degeneration of democracy as a whole? And finally: what are the risks for democracy? The article corroborates the diarchic theories of democracy and aims to demonstrate the lack of compatibility between the principles of liberal democracy and populist principles, which have a negative impact not only on the liberal component, but also on the quality of democracy in its entirety.

MODEL OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN INDONESIA: WHAT DOES THE 1945 CONSTITUTION INTEND?

The character of the current local government in Indonesia is moving forward to re-centralisation instead of decentralisation. Meanwhile, some comparative studies on models of local governments are catching eyes as they attempt to systemise a classification. This paper aims to describe a legal doctrinal assessment of the model of local government in Indonesia. It also gives some options for a separate comparative study, if it needs an ‘apple to apple’ or an inspiring object of study, to achieve the purposes of comparison for better legislation constituting local government in Indonesia. In doing so, the previous studies on global models of local government are examined to assess the current Indonesian legislations, covering the nature of the legal entity, source of authority and financial, organisation, and the extent in making the decision. This study points that the recent model of local government in Indonesia is a hybrid system, which implies close to Franco rather than the Anglo model, with certain specifications. However, the 1945 Constitution contains some future and global values without disregarding the root of local government function in the community. Therefore, the study considers the normative model of local government in Indonesia inconsistent with the legal policy in the 1945 Constitution. It is then considerable if an amendment of the local government Act is an option to re-modify the model of local government, which can reflect the ideas in the Constitution and is not left behind the global trends. Abstrak: Karakter Pemerintahan Daerah yang Nampak hari ini di Indonesia lebih mengarah pada re-sentralisasi daripada desentralisasi. Sementara itu, beberapa kajian perbandingan mengenai model-model pemerintahan daerah cukup menarik untuk dapat dilihat bagaimana untuk mengklasifikasi suatu sistematisasi. Dalam tulisan ini hendak dipaparkan sudut pandang yuridis-normatif terhadap model Pemerintahan Daerah di Indonesia. Termasuk di dalamnya terdapat suatu pilihan untuk studi perbandingan, apakah dibutuhkan syarat suatu kesetaraan atau syarat suatu objek kajian yang dapat mengispirasi, untuk mencapai tujuan perbandingan yaitu penyempurnaan suatu hukum yang mengatur Pemerintahan Daerah di Indonesia. Untuk itu, kajian-kajian terdahulu mengenai model-model Pemerintahan Daerah secara global telah ditelaah berikutnya sebagai bahan untuk dapat mencermati peraturan perundang-undangan di Indonesia, yang meliputi makna entitas hukumnya, sumber kewenangan dan keuangan, kelembagaan dan sejauh mana untuk menentukan keputusan. Ditemukan bahwa model Pemerintahan Daerah di Indonesa merupakan system hybrid, yang lebih mendekati model Franco dibandingkan dengan model Anglo beserta spesifikasi di dalamnya. Bagaimanapun, Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 berisi nilai-nilai masa depan dan global tanpa mengesampingkan akar dari fungsi Pemerintahan Daerah di masyarakat. Dengan patokan seperti itu, model normatif Pemerintahan Daerah di Indonesia tidak sejalan dengan dengan gagasan dalam UUD 1945. Maka dari itu, suatu perubahan terhadap Undang-Undang Pemerintahan Daerah dipandang sebagai suatu upaya yang dapat dipertimbangkan untuk re-modifikasi model Pemerintahan Daeeah dapat mencerminkan gagasan dalam Konstitusi tanpa tertinggal oleh kecenderungan global. Kata Kunci: Perbandingan Pemerintahan Daerah, Desentralisasi, Model Pemerintahan Daerag, UUD 1945 Negara Republik Indonesia

Determinants of Implementation of County Bursary Regulations in Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Kirinyaga County bursary scheme was introduced in the 2013/14 financial year. Bursary for secondary schools and higher level institutions being a National government function, the county sought advice from the then cabinet to offer state support to enhance access, ensure retention and reduce corruption in the provision of school education. Poor vetting criterion and compliance of guidelines have resulted in cronyism and nepotism which have plagued the bursary award process for decades. Poor monitoring & evaluation has piled up grievances with no follow up system. Lack of clear regulations on funding allocation has allowed political interference on budget cycles. The County bursary targets were students from poor households and the vulnerable. This study sought to examine the determinants of implementation of county bursary regulations in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives; To establish the extent to which compliance of guidelines determines the implementation of County Bursary in Kirinyaga County, to explore the extent to which vetting criteria determines the implementation of County Bursary in Kirinyaga County, to examine the extent to which funding allocation determines the implementation of County Bursary in Kirinyaga County and to examine the extent to which monitoring of utilization of the bursary fund determines the implementation of County Bursary in Kirinyaga County. The new public administration theory that captures the concept of equity and fairness was adopted to explore the gaps during implementation of county bursary regulations in Kirinyaga County. The study sourced requisite data from 70 parents whose students benefited from bursary and 31 principals, both samples having been picked from the PTAs membership. The respondents were drawn using a combination of random and purposive sampling procedures. The study adopted descriptive design which was used to analyze primary data. Data was presented, interpreted and analyzed using frequency & percentage distributions, cross tabulations with STATA. Qualitative data in form of first hand experiences, informed opinions and suggestions, were analyzed using qualitative procedures and were used to strengthen quantitative findings. The results of the study indicated that majority of beneficiaries allocation by need were from poor households 51% followed by bright students at 29%. Similarly, orphans and special needs students both received 9.7%.

Incidence and Ramifications of Armed Conflict in Countries with Major Desert Locust Breeding Areas

Despite many areas of progress in recent years, desert locust surveillance and control is impaired by many obstacles, the most intractable of which is insecurity. Insecurity involves rebellions, insurgencies, civil and international war, banditry, terrorism, and minefields. Obstruction of desert locust operations in breeding areas by ongoing armed conflict and landmines constitutes “direct” insecurity. “Indirect” insecurity, although less obvious, is arguably more broadly deleterious by debilitating government function and diverting funds, personnel, and equipment from desert locust management. Indirect “active” insecurity is armed conflict and civil unrest that is occurring at the same time as a desert locust episode, but not in the breeding areas. Indirect “inactive” insecurity refers to the after-effects of insecurity, including weak funding because of prior inattention to capacity maintenance during times of direct and indirect active insecurity, disabled or militarily-appropriated vehicles and other resources, destruction of infrastructure, and deployment of mines. We provide examples of direct and indirect insecurity across 35 years, from 1986 through May 2020, in 13 African and Asian countries (Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Western Sahara, and Yemen) with desert locust breeding areas to illustrate the complexity, pervasiveness, and chronic occurrence of insecurity. The upsurge of 2020 is used to show how direct insecurity still contributes to the genesis and expansion of desert locust episodes. Possible mitigation of direct insecurity effects on some desert locust operations is discussed.

Study on Government Functions in Privatization of Public Stadiums- Based on Effective Supply of Double-level System

In the two-level system of effective supply of public stadiums, institutional supply is the constraint of product supply, and product supply feeds back to the formation of institutional supply. The establishment and change of the government function supply system is the key to the efficiency of privatized product supply. Therefore, the government in the process of privatization of public stadiums and gymnasiums in our country will realize the corresponding and complete regulatory functions before entering, during access, during implementation and after exit.

“We care about others”: discursive constructions of corruption vis-à-vis national/cultural identity in Indonesia’s business-government relations

Purpose This paper aims to problematize existing conceptualization of corruption by presenting alternative perspectives on corruption in Indonesia through the lens of national/cultural identity, amidst claims of the pervasiveness of corruption in the country. In so doing, the paper also sheds light on the micro-processes of interactions between global and local discourses in postcolonial settings. Design/methodology/approach The study applies discourse analysis, involving in-depth interviews with 40 informants from the business sector, government institutions and anti-corruption agencies. Findings The findings suggest that corruption helps government function, preserves livelihoods of the marginalized segments of societies and maintains social obligations/relations. These alternative meanings of corruption persist despite often seen as less legitimate due to effects of colonial powers. Research limitations/implications The snowballing method of recruiting informants is one of the limitations of this paper, which may decrease the potential diversity and lead to the silencing of different stories (Schwartz-Shea and Yanow, 2013). Researchers need to contextualize corruption and study its varied meanings to reveal its social, historical and political dimensions. Practical implications This paper strongly suggests that we need to move beyond rationalist accounts to capture the varied meanings of corruption which may be useful to explain the limited results of existing anti-corruption efforts. Social implications This study calls for a greater use of qualitative methods to study broad social change programs such as anti-corruption from the perspective of the insiders. Originality/value This paper contributes to the discussion of agency at the interplay between the dominant and alternative discourses in postcolonial settings. Moreover, the alternative meanings of corruption embedded in constructions of national identity and care ethics discussed in this paper offer as a starting point for decolonizing (Westwood, 2006) anti-corruption theory and practice.

Local Government Policy in The Procurement of Rental Official Vehicle (ROV) in Keerom District, Papua

The implementation of regional government requires supporting facilities and infrastructure for the smooth implementation. One of them is adequate transportation facilities. Therefore, the local government provides official vehicles for commitment and responsibility in giving attention and concern to duties of the state civil apparatus implementation. This study aims to formulate urgency of leasing operational service vehicles in the Keerom District Government. This study uses normative legal research as research method. The legal material obtained will describe and relate in such a way that it is presented in a more systematic writing to answer problems that have been formulated. Result shows the procurement of official vehicles was chosen through the rental process to minimize expenditure in the context of budget economy, effectiveness, and efficiency. Rental official vehicles in the Keerom Regency Government function as a support for regional government in achieving targets as its responsibility to provide welfare for community. Keywords: local government; operational service vehicles; rental

REFORMASI PENDIDIKAN DALAM PERSPEKTIF PEMERINTAHAN DAERAH

The objeZCDFctive of the research are to (1) reveal and explain the implementation of local Government functions in carrying out education program and the essence of authority possessed by each region, (2) reveal and explain the implementation of the authority possessed by each region based on Act No. 32 year of 2004 and Act 20 year of 2003 together with institutional synergy, and (3) reveal and explain the participation of the community in supporting the implementation of the program of education. The results show that: (1) The local government function in the field of implementing education program does not work optimally, (2) Free education program has not been optimally implemented and still needs improvement particularly those related to the national budget on education that is still in the range of 13%, and (3) Community participation in reality is still low, whereas in fact the community is one of the important elements in education. AbstrakPelaksanaan fungsi pemerintahan daerah dalam bidang penyelenggaraan pendidikan berikut esensi kewenangan yang dimiliki masing-masing daerah, dapat dikaji dengan mengungkap dan menjelaskan implementasi kewenangan yang dimiliki masing-masing daerah berdasarkan Undang-undang No. 23 tahun 2014 dan Undang-Undang No. 20 Tahun 2003 beserta sinerji kelembagaan, dan mengungkap dan menjelaskan partisipasi masyarakat dalam mendukung penyelenggaraan pendidikan. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian hukum dengan pendekatan sosiologi hukum. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pertama, pelaksanaan fungsi pemerintah daerah di bidang penyelenggaraan pendidikan belum berjalan optimal. Kedua, program pendidikan gratis belum berjalan optimal dan masih membutuhkan penyempurnaan terutama yang berkaitan dengan anggaran, yang hingga kini anggaran pendidikan masih minim. Ketiga, partisipasi masyarakat masih minim, padahal masyarakat sebagai salah satu elemen penting dalam penyelenggaraan pendidikan.