The Battle of Interests between The Central Government and Local Governments: The Case of Drafting the Archipelagic Regions Law in Indonesia (2005-2014)

Abstract

This paper discusses about conflict of interest between Central Government and local governments in the case of drafting the Archipelagic Regions Law in Indonesia (2005-2014). This study uses a qualitative approach using power interplay theory by Lowi (2009). The demands of archipelago region began in 2005 by requesting policy affirmation to The Central Government. The culmination of the archipelago region demands was the submission of the Draft Law on the Acceleration of Islands Regional Development to the House of Representatives in 2012-2013. Based on the research findings, there are several interests of the archipelagic regions in the submission of the Draft Law (RUU), as follows: the need for special regulations and the determination of budget allocations according to the characteristics of the archipelagic region. The Central Government’s rejection of the Draft Law (RUU) was based on the consideration that the substance of the demands of the archipelagic regions has been contained in various other laws, the phrase ‘archipelago’ is unidentify, recognised and regulated by international law of the sea and the 1945 Constitution. The conflict between the regional government of the eight islands and the central government occurred behind closed through government administration mechanisms and open conflicts through arguments in the mass media. Based on the findings of this research, the assumptions of power interplay theory are confirmed in the distributive policies model. In this model, the policy- making process tends to involve peaceful and collaborative negotiations. This is evident because there is no significant conflict between The Central Government and the islands in Indonesia. The impact of the rejection of Draft Law (RUU) on eight island regions is the inequality of development and the small development budget and many achievements of macro development indicators that are still below national achievements.