Summary: | This study is conducted with a starting point of an important question, i.e. how
are social policies applied in Banjar Municipality? The research question are started
from an interesting phenomenon where the Municipal Government of Banjar issued
some social policies after the splitting of the region to improve the economic capacity
of society, particularly the poor people. The phenomenon is actually not a neo thing.
In decentralization era some local governments of Indonesia have developed the
social policies with affirmation to the improvement of social welfare among the poor
people. However, there is no adequate theoretical explanation on such local
phenomenon.
To answer the question, the study makes the experience in Banjar
Municipality as a case. The Municipal Government of Banjar has issued the social
policies in three main sectors, i.e. education, health and rural sector. The policies are
supported also by the development of infrastructures in the three sectors, as well as
urban infrastructures for increasing economic development in the region.
The study used a framework proposed by Jayasuriya (2006). According to
him the social policies in developing countries are issued for meeting the needs of
global neoliberalism regimes of intregating citizenship into market. Such social
policies for the improvement of society, particularly the poor people, are focused to
strengthen the capability of society to be in line with the needs of market. Because of
being built on the base of such market citizenship but not through the formation of
social pacts in the prolonged negotiation among the state, citizen, and market, the
pattern of social policy in the developing countries indicates antipolitical nature and
promotes the active role of agents.
In many respects, the study conducted by Jayasuriya is significantly relevant
to the need of explaining the pattern of social policy at local level throughout
Indonesia. In Banjar case, the study addressed the underlying local context of the
pro-poor social policies, including the emergence of populist elites in sinergy with the
neoliberal ideas after the Post-Washington Consensus, which integrates social
dimensions in economic development policy. Therefore, the purpose of the study is
to analyze the development of the neo-populism in Banjar Municipality, including in
controlling other political powers and making the politization and representation
absent in the formulation and institutionalization of social policy.
Attention to such issues is required to observe the logical consequencies of
the political situation on democracy. Dillemas appeared where democracy and
welfare are assessed to be not able to achieve in a simulatenous manner. The social
welfare ever achieved by developmentalism regimes in East Asia shows that the
social welfare can be achieved by an iron hand domination technique. It is expected
that the study on the pattern of social policies at local level throughout Indonesia with
Banjar Municipality as the case can make neo theoretical contribution on the same
dillemas after the era of developmentalism regime.
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