Public Participation and Regulatory Legitimacy in Indonesia’s Strategic National Projects: Between Developmentalism and Constitutional Rights

Rengga Kusuma  Putra; Joni  Laksito; Adi Suryo Ramadhan

doi:10.51903/k1agdz02

Authors

Rengga Kusuma Putra Universitas Sains dan Teknologi Komputer, Semarang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2309-2536
Joni Laksito Universitas Sains dan Teknologi Komputer, Semarang, Indonesia
Adi Suryo Ramadhan Universitas Sains dan Teknologi Komputer, Semarang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51903/k1agdz02

Keywords:

Strategic national projects, Developmentalist governance, Public Participan, Regulatory legitimacy, Socio-legal studies

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between public participation and regulatory legitimacy in the implementation of Strategic National Projects (PSN) in Indonesia amid tensions between developmentalism and constitutional rights protection. The acceleration of infrastructure development through PSN has strengthened centralized governance while simultaneously generating agrarian conflicts, social resistance, and criticism regarding the quality of public participation in development governance. This research employs an empirical socio-legal approach using qualitative methods. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, regulatory analysis, and documentation related to PSN implementation. The findings reveal that PSN governance is dominated by executive-driven governance in which public participation tends to operate procedurally rather than substantively. Limited transparency and weak recognition of communal rights reinforce asymmetrical governance relations between the state, investors, and local communities. These conditions contribute to increasing agrarian conflicts, declining public trust, and weakening social legitimacy within strategic development governance. This study concludes that formal legal legitimacy does not automatically produce social legitimacy when development processes remain centralized, exclusionary, and lacking meaningful public deliberation. The study contributes to socio-legal governance scholarship by demonstrating how developmentalist governance and procedural participation shape legitimacy crises within strategic national development. The research highlights the importance of inclusive, transparent, and participatory governance in strengthening constitutional democracy and sustainable development legitimacy in Indonesia

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