Political Decentralization and the Emergence of the Local State Capture: Lessons from Bengkulu, Indonesia

Abstract

The local state capture phenomenon becomes very interesting if it is associated with the macro state capture framework that has begun to develop in the last two decades. A more multifaceted political approach is needed because state erosion is a political problem, not just an economic one. By referring to the political ethnographic tradition, this study describes how the complexity of relations between local economic, political, and ruling elites leads to the emergence of local state capture and the scope of its power. This study concludes that the weathering or weakening of formal government functions is not the source of the emergence of the local capture phenomenon. The growth of local state capture is more owing to the one-of-a-kind interaction between local political and economic actors and the ruling elite since the direct election of regional leaders takes place. This elite collaboration results from the emergence of a local oligarchic pole controlling local resources. The initiation of relations between the economic and political elite and the ruling elite is not only because of economic spheres but because they want to be part of the rulers' closest political circle of power.