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Civil society, citizen's Organizations, andThe Transition to Democratic Governance in Indonesia

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Regional autonomy and democratization have opened up the political space for citizens to become active in governing their own communities, while decentralization promises that decision-making will become more transparent and accountable as it is pushed downwards and closer to people. In fact, decentralization is often quoted as a prerequisite for the growth of local democracy.  There are a myriad of ways in which civil society organizations can engage in local governance issues, including advocacy and community development. Most civil society organizations have decided to monitor what the local government and parliament are doing, while others have decided either to establish partnerships with local government officials or to engage in government projects as subcontractors.  The result of citizen engagement in local governance is dependent on the quality of participation – which is not simply about involving people, but also dependent on who is involved and how the involvement is governed.  Although civic engagement allows for the participation of people who were previously left on the outside and although it also helps open up local governance, there is nevertheless a lack of massive civic engagement in governance issues in Indonesia. Civil society organizations lack the capacity to promote viable political alternatives, which has been observed through the lack of CSO political skills and the uneasiness with which CSOs engage with government or political parties.  Considering that advances in civil society in Indonesia have thus only to a very limited degree led to public sector reforms and citizen participation, civil society attention might be more usefully directed towards developing new organizational forms. These organizational forms will not only build on citizen forums and the various watchdog organizations; they will also be more focused politically on questioning the power of the bureaucrats and building a more sustainable civic engagement in development.

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Availability

KP XXI.000098	KP XXI HOL c	My Library	Available
KP.XXI.000098	KP XXI HOL c	My Library	Available

Detail Information

Series Title

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Call Number

KP XXI HOL c

Publisher

Jakarta : United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)., 2001

Collation

ii, 42 hlm.; 30 cm

Language

Indonesia

ISBN/ISSN

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Classification

KP XXI

Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

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Subject(s)

Keadaan sosial
Keadaan politik

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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