Legal Frameworks Strengthening Democratic Participation and Public Policy for Inclusive Social Development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51903/x0cw8854Keywords:
Legal Consistency, Decentralization, Public Policy Implementation, Democratic Participation, Newly Established RegionsAbstract
Legal consistency is the main requirement to ensure the effectiveness of democratic participation and consistent policy implementation at the local level of decentralized governance. This current study aims to explore the role of legal consistency in the implementation of policy in newly formed regions of decentralized governance and its implications for democratic participation and inclusive social development. The present study adopted a qualitative methodology using a normative-empirical approach and analyzed twenty-four legal and public policy documents at national and local levels using content analysis and semi-structured interviews of policymakers and experts using a purposive sampling technique. From the findings of this current study, it is revealed that legal consistency is considerably influencing policy implementation at the local level of newly formed regions, and regions with a higher capacity of legislative acts show consistent policy implementation and clear distribution of powers and functions of local authorities. Legal inconsistency causes issues of overlap and delays in the implementation of public policy. This current paper contributes to theory by advancing normative legal analysis in the field of decentralization. Practically, the findings guide regulatory harmonization efforts and legislative capacity development, concluding that legal consistency is for decentralized governance.
References
Avelino, F. (2021). Theories of Power and Social Change. Power Contestations and Their Implications for Research on Social Change and Innovation. Journal of Political Power, 14(3), 425–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/2158379X.2021.1875307
Banerjee, S. B. (2021). Decolonizing Deliberative Democracy: Perspectives from Below. Journal of Business Ethics, 181, 283–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04971-5
Bua, A., & Bussu, S. (2021). Between Governance-Driven Democratisation and Democracy-Driven Governance: Explaining Changes in Participatory Governance in the Case of Barcelona. European Journal of Political Research, 60(3), 716–737. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12421
Drieghe, L., Orbie, J., Potjomkina, D., & Shahin, J. (2021). Participation of Civil Society in EU Trade Policy Making: How Inclusive is Inclusion? New Political Economy, 27(4), 581–596. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2021.1879763
Fagerholm, N., Raymond, C. M., Olafsson, A. S., Brown, G., Rinne, T., Hasanzadeh, K., Broberg, A., & Kyttä, M. (2021). A Methodological Framework for Analysis of Participatory Mapping Data in Research, Planning, and Management. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 35(9), 1848–1875. https://doi.org/10.1080/13658816.2020.1869747
Guerrero, M., Liñán, F., & Cáceres-Carrasco, F. R. (2021). The Influence of Ecosystems on the Entrepreneurship Process: A Comparison Across Developed and Developing Economies. Small Business Economics, 57, 1733–1759. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00392-2
Haggart, B., & Keller, C. I. (2021). Democratic Legitimacy in Global Platform Governance. Telecommunications Policy, 45(6), 102152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102152
Hämäläinen, H., & Salminen, J. (2025). Inclusive Participation in Law-Making: Good Governance or A Constitutional Obligation? The Theory and Practice of Legislation, 13(2), 213–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/20508840.2025.2513176
Hofer, K., & Kaufmann, D. (2023). Actors, Arenas and Aims: A Conceptual Framework for Public Participation. Planning Theory, 22(4), 357–379. https://doi.org/10.1177/14730952221139587
Holum, M. (2022). Citizen Participation: Linking Government Efforts, Actual Participation, and Trust in Local Politicians. International Journal of Public Administration, 46(13), 915–925. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2022.2048667
Kiss, B., Sekulova, F., Hörschelmann, K., Salk, C. F., Takahashi, W., & Wamsler, C. (2022). Citizen Participation in the Governance of Nature-Based Solutions. Environmental Policy and Governance, 32(3), 247–272. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1987
La Barbera, M. C., Cassain, L., & Caravantes, P. (2023). The Discursive Construction of Intersectionality in Public Policy Implementation. Critical Discourse Studies, 21(5), 555–572. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2023.2228937
Macnaghten, P. (2021). Towards an Anticipatory Public Engagement Methodology: Deliberative Experiments in the Assembly of Possible Worlds Using Focus Groups. Qualitative Research, 21(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794120919096
Malek, J. A., Lim, S. B., & Yigitcanlar, T. (2021). Social Inclusion Indicators for Building Citizen-Centric Smart Cities: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, 13(1), 376. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010376
Masuku, S., & Macheka, T. (2021). Policy Making and Governance Structures in Zimbabwe: Examining Their Efficacy as a Conduit to Equitable Participation (Inclusion) and Social Justice for Rural Youths. Cogent Social Sciences, 7(1), 1855742. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2020.1855742
Miura, H., Lee, T., & Kim, E. (2025). Citizen Participation and Political Efficacy at the Grassroots Level: The Case of Residents’ Self-Governance Associations in Seoul, South Korea. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 36, 204–216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-024-00708-w
Niemeyer, S., Veri, F., Dryzek, J. S., & Bächtiger, A. (2023). How Deliberation Happens: Enabling Deliberative Reason. American Political Science Review, 118(1), 345–362. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055423000023
Ocloo, J., Garfield, S., Franklin, B. D., & Dawson, S. (2021). Exploring the Theory, Barriers and Enablers for Patient and Public Involvement Across Health, Social Care and Patient Safety: A Systematic Review of Reviews. Health Research Policy and Systems, 19(8), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-020-00644-3
Ribeiro, J. D., Falanga, R., & Moniz, J. (2025). Assessing the Role of Democratic Innovations in Environmental Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainable Development, 33(5), 7775–7790. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3545
Ross, A., Van Alstine, J., Cotton, M., & Middlemiss, L. (2021). Deliberative Democracy and Environmental Justice: Evaluating the role of Citizens’ Juries in Urban Climate Governance. Local Environment, 26(12), 1512–1531. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2021.1990235
Schäfer, S., & Syam, M. (2025). Pandemic Politics: The Acceleration of Democratic Erosion and Autocratization in Indonesia During Covid-19. Zeitschrift Für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft, 18, 475–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12286-025-00634-1
Schippers, M. C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., & Luijks, M. W. J. (2024). Is Society Caught Up in a Death Spiral? Modeling Societal Demise and Its Reversal. Frontiers in Sociology, 9, 1194597. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2024.1194597
Schmidthuber, L., Ingrams, A., & Hilgers, D. (2021). Government Openness and Public Trust: The Mediating Role of Democratic Capacity. Public Administration Review, 81(1), 91–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13298
Sikky, F., & Mengge, V. (2025). Analisis Prediktif Putusan Perdata Berbasis Machine learning di Indonesia. Hakim: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum Dan Sosial, 3(4), 1456–1470. https://doi.org/10.51903/ZQN0G438
Siregar, S. N., Raffiudin, R., & Noor, F. (2022). Democratic Regression in Indonesia: Police and Low-Capacity Democracy in Jokowi’s Administration (2014-2020). Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Dan Ilmu Politik, 26(2), 197–212. https://doi.org/10.22146/jsp.72129
Stupak, I., Mansoor, M., & Smith, C. T. (2021). Conceptual Framework for Increasing Legitimacy and Trust of Sustainability Governance. Energy, Sustainability and Society, 11(5), 2–57. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-021-00280-x
Taylor, L. (2021). Public Actors Without Public Values: Legitimacy, Domination and the Regulation of the Technology Sector. Philosophy & Technology, 34, 897–922. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-020-00441-4
Taylor, P., Macdonald, K., Huckstep, S., & Sun, Y. (2023). Shifting Norms, Multiplying Actors, Turbulent Times: An Emerging Landscape of International Development Co-Operation. Development Policy Review, 41(4), e12686. https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12686
Thomsen, D. C., Smith, T. F., & Elrick-Barr, C. E. (2024). The Anthropocene Obscene: Poetic Inquiry and Evocative Evidence of Inequality. Geographical Journal, 190(3), e12559. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12559
Wang, T., Tan, J. Y. (Benjamin), Liu, X. L., & Zhao, I. (2023). Barriers and Enablers to Implementing Clinical Practice Guidelines in Primary Care: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. BMJ Open, 13(1), e062158. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJOPEN-2022-062158
Weingart, P., Joubert, M., & Connoway, K. (2021). Public Engagement with Science-Origins, Motives and Impact in Academic Literature and Science Policy. Plos One, 16(7), e0254201. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254201
Wirtz, B. W., Weyerer, J. C., Becker, M., & Müller, W. M. (2022). Open Government Data: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Research. Electronic Markets, 32, 2381–2404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-022-00582-8
Xiao, J., Zhang, H., & Han, L. (2023). How Digital Transformation Improve Government Performance: The Mediating Role of Partnering Agility. IEEE Access, 11, 59274–59285. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3284793
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Althea Serafim Kriswandaru, Berliant Pratiwi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
3.png)
