GLOBALIZATION AND DOMESTIC POLICY CHANGE: THE CASE OF MANDATORY PALM OIL CERTIFICATION POLICY IN INDONESIA

Abstract

Indonesia has gained its reputation as the one of the largest oil palm producer. The sustainability of Indonesian palm oil, however, being argued since the expansion often created various impacts. For instance, the draining and burning peatland for palm oil plantation were sent huge amount and carbon emissions which responsible for climate change and global warming. These climate change and global warming, however, deeply linked with the globalization process, which in the end influencing the domestic policy making. This paper aims to improve the understanding on how various transnational actors, institutions, and norms influence domestic policy change. As a case study, we examine the influence of globalization on the initiation of the Indonesian Palm Oil Standard (ISPO) standards policy, which was published by the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture in 2011. As the theoretical framework. the four paths of globalization and domestic policy change proposed by Bernstein and Cashore (2000) are applied. Our case study suggests that economic globalization, which produces high palm oil demand, is the primary catalyst for this policy change. Secondly, we note the influence of transnational actors, who exert market pressure, on the extant Indonesian palm oil industry policy. The other notable influence triggering ISPO initiation was from international institutions and norms. Our case study, did not, however, find support for transnational actor direct access to the policy process. Nevertheless, following to the ISPO official publication, the four pathways started to evolve again through various constellations.