Village Government Capacity in the Implementation of Village Law No. 6 of 2015 in Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims at measuring the political capacity of village governance after the implementation of Village Law (Law No. 6 of 2015) in Indonesia. The Village Law was intended to change the concept of authority in undertaking development. Previously, the villages were controlled from higher levels of government in terms of the authority to plan the development and village budget. The Village Law has provided more authority and money for the villages’ governments in order to conduct public administration, development, community empowerment, and social development. Furthermore, the law requires every village government to embrace and practice good governance values such as anti-corruption, transparency, participation, and accountability. A very general question but fundamental is, do the village government officials already comprehend the concept of good governance? The comprehension of good governance is a basic foundation of political capacity. This chapter reports on a survey analysis in eight villages of four districts in East Java. In order to present a comprehensive analysis, this study also undertook informal interviews and focus group discussions.