Decentralization and Public Participation: A Literature Review on Impact and Implementation
This study examines the correlation between decentralization and community engagement in local government administration in Indonesia. This study examines the impact of decentralization measures enacted during the reform era on the extent of community involvement in local decision-making processes. The data originates from surveys and interviews conducted with diverse stakeholders in many locations in Indonesia. The research findings indicate that decentralization has facilitated community engagement in local government administration. However, various barriers hinder broader and more efficient participation.
Alex-Assensoh, Y. M. (2005). Democracy at risk: How political choices undermine citizen participation and what we can do about it. Brookings Institution Press.
Ali, A. (2022). Fragile states, decentralisation and the nature of barriers to citizen participation in local government: a view from Pakistan. SN Social Sciences, 2(2), 11.
Andrews, C. W., & de Vries, M. S. (2007). High expectations, varying outcomes: decentralization and participation in Brazil, Japan, Russia and Sweden. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 73(3), 424–451.
Ardaya, R., & Thévoz, L. (2001). Promoting Popular Participation. Mountain Research and Development, 21(3), 215–220.
Awire, J. W., & Nyakwara, S. (2019). Analysis of Public Participation on Budget Implementation in Kisii County Government, Kenya. European Journal of Business and Management, 11(29), 68–79.
Bae, Y., Joo, Y.-M., & Won, S.-Y. (2016). Decentralization and collaborative disaster governance: Evidence from South Korea. Habitat International, 52, 50–56.
Bardhan, P., & Mookherjee, D. (2006). Decentralization and local governance in developing countries: A comparative perspective. MIT press.
Barnes, M., Newman, J., & Sullivan, H. (2007). Power, participation and political renewal: Case studies in public participation. Policy Press.
Baumgaertner, B., Carlisle, J. E., & Justwan, F. (2018). The influence of political ideology and trust on willingness to vaccinate. PloS One, 13(1), e0191728.
Be-Ere, S. (2023). Decentralization and pro-poor participation in Ghana: unmasking the barriers to inclusive grassroots development. Studies in Comparative International Development, 58(2), 280–307.
Beuermann, D. W., & Amelina, M. (2014). Does participatory budgeting improve decentralized public service delivery? IDB Working Paper Series.
Brinkerhoff, D., & Azfar, O. (2010). Decentralization and community empowerment. Making Decentralization Work: Democracy, Development and Security, 81–114.
Bucci, V., Ferrara, G., & Resce, G. (2024). Local government spending efficiency and fiscal decentralization: evidence from Italian municipalities. Applied Economics, 56(5), 599–614.
Cahyaditama, A. (2015). Reformasi birokrasi pemerintah Kota Padang melalui pelaksanaan reinventing government. UKM, Bangi.
Cheema, G. S., & Rondinelli, D. A. (2007). Decentralizing governance: emerging concepts and practices.
Chen, S., Liu, X., & Lu, C. (2022). Fiscal decentralization, local government behavior, and macroeconomic effects of environmental policy. Sustainability, 14(17), 11069.
Chugh, S., & Malik, C. S. (2022). Community Participation in the Framework of Decentralization: Move towards Local Self-Governance. In Politics of Education in India (pp. 17–30). Routledge India.
Clarke, R. T. (2019). Decentralization policy and citizen participation in government: The case of Liberia. Walden University.
de Rojas, J. M. R., & Caceres, C. C. (2014). Authoritarianism and justification of inequality as ideological conditionants of political deliberation and political participation/El autoritarismo y la justificacion de la inequidad como condicionantes ideologicos de los niveles de deliberacion y participacion politica/O autoritarismo ea justificacao da desigualdade como condicionantes ideologicos dos niveis de deliberacao e participacao politica. Avances En Psicología Latinoamericana, 32(3), 495–514.
Deneha, V., Yevhen, C., Shevchuk, O., & Mentukh, N. (2023). Competence of state authorities and local self-government bodies in the public-private partnerships area. J. Legal Ethical & Regul. Isses, 26, 1.
Di Bona, G., Bracci, A., Perra, N., Latora, V., & Baronchelli, A. (2022). The decentralized evolution of decentralization across fields: from Governance to Blockchain. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:2207.14260.
Farah, A. (2019). Fiscal decentralization and electoral participation: Analyzing districts in Indonesia. CIW Discussion Paper.
Fuo, O. N. (2015). Public participation in decentralised governments in Africa: Making ambitious constitutional guarantees more responsive. African Human Rights Law Journal, 15(1), 167–191.
Galtsova, O. L. (2019). DECENTRALIZATION OF NATIONAL ECONOMY MANAGEMENT: THE EXPERIENCE OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. Scientific Bulletin of Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas (Series: Economics and Management in the Oil and Gas Industry), 2 (20), 86–92.
González Rivas, M. (2014). Decentralization, community participation, and improvement of water access in Mexico. Community Development, 45(1), 2–16.
Gwidi, J. C., & Kilei, P. (2022). The Effect of Public Participation on Performance of Devolved Governance System in Kenya: Case of the Government of the County of Kwale. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 22(23), 417–435.
Helling, A. L., Berthet, R. S., & Warren, D. (2005). Linking community empowerment, decentralized governance, and public service provision through a local development framework (Vol. 535). Citeseer.
Hoesein, Z. A., Arifudin, A., & Rahayu, S. D. (2022). The Effectiveness of Decentralization Policy in Local Government Administration. Jurnal Akta, 9(2), 242–259.
Jain, B., Rahim, F., Jain, P., & Palakodeti, S. (2022). Decentralized investing: A social innovation for broader patient engagement. Health Policy and Technology, 11(4), 100698.
Jones, N., Lyytikäinen, M., Mukherjee, M., & Gopinath Reddy, M. (2007). Decentralization and participatory service delivery: implications for tackling childhood poverty in Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Children and Poverty, 13(2), 207–229.
Kessy, A. (2013). Decentralization and citizens’ participation: Some theoretical and conceptual perspectives. The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs, 215–239.
Kishore, K., & Misra, S. N. (2023). IMPACT OF IDEOLOGY ON PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNANCE: INDIA AT 75. Jindal Journal of Public Policy, 7(1), 151–165.
Kteily, N. S., Rocklage, M. D., McClanahan, K., & Ho, A. K. (2019). Political ideology shapes the amplification of the accomplishments of disadvantaged vs. advantaged group members. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(5), 1559–1568.
Lanzaro, J., & Ramos Larraburu, C. (2021). Decentralization and co-participation in the public sector: a historical feature of Uruguayan pluralist democracy. International Journal of Public Administration, 44(1), 14–29.
Mangla, A. (2024). Making Bureaucracy Work. Cambridge University Press.
Manrique Avila, L. T. (2015). ¿ Es la descentralización un aspecto relevante para las políticas públicas?
Masvaure, S. (2016). Elusive public participation: citizen decision-making in budget formulation process in the City of Harare, Zimbabwe. Urban Forum, 27(4), 447–463.
Mohammed, A. K. (2016). Decentralization and participation: theory and Ghana’s evidence. Japanese Journal of Political Science, 17(2), 232–255.
Mulia, R. A. (2019). Influence Of Public Policy, Participation Of Community And Education Level To Public Welfare In Padang Pariaman District. Jurnal EL-RIYASAH, 10(1), 37–56.
Mushtaq, M., & Zaman, A. (2022). Decentralization and Subnational Politics: Investigating the Impact of Democratic Decentralization on Subnational Politics in Pakistan. Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review, 6(3), 519–532.
Nabatchi, T., & Leighninger, M. (2015). Public participation for 21st century democracy. books.google.com. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=3oPgCAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=leadership+organization+policy+public+service+motivation+good+governance+capacity+building&ots=FnbOIf0Jz3&sig=ykRcJaZQ0BUseYBAlYSL6_PNFvE
Olum, Y. (2014). Decentralisation in developing countries: preconditions for successful implementation. Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, 15, 23–38.
Onyeaka, H., Weber, D. B., Chido-Amajuoyi, O., Muoghalu, C., & Amonoo, H. L. (2023). The influence of political ideology on clinical trial knowledge, invitation, and participation among adults in the United States. Clinical Trials, 20(6), 708–713.
Parashkevova, E., Gospodinov, Y., & Stoyanova, M. (2022). Theoretical and conceptual issues of the decentralization of regional development policy. IJASOS-International E-Journal of Advances in Social Sciences, 8(23), 445–455.
Phillips, S. D., & Orsini, M. (2002). Mapping the links: Citizen involvement in policy processes. Canadian Policy Research Networks Ottawa, ON.
Razavi, S. D., Kapiriri, L., Abelson, J., & Wilson, M. (2022). Barriers to equitable public participation in health-system priority setting within the context of decentralization: the case of vulnerable women in a Ugandan District. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 11(7), 1047.
Ridgway, J., Nicholson, J., Sutherland, S., Hedgers, S., & Sorto, M. A. (2015). Strategies for public engagement with official statistics.
Rikken, O., Janssen, M., & Kwee, Z. (2022). Creating trust in citizen participation through decentralized autonomous citizen participation organizations (dacpos). DG. O 2022: The 23rd Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research, 440–442.
Rondinelli, D. A. (2017). Decentralization and development. In International development governance (pp. 391–404). Routledge.
Rubaltelli, E., Dickert, S., Markowitz, D. M., & Slovic, P. (2024). Political ideology shapes risk and benefit judgments of COVID‐19 vaccines. Risk Analysis, 44(1), 126–140.
Sabir, B. Y., Jabbar Othman, B., Gardi, B., Burhan Ismael, N., Abdalla Hamza, P., Sorguli, S., Mahmood Aziz, H., Ali Ahmed, S., Ali, B. J., & Anwar, G. (2021). Administrative decentralization: The transfer of competency from the Ministry of Education to General Directorates. International Journal of Rural Development, Environment and Health Research (IJREH), 5.
Saputra, N., Syamsir, S., Embi, M. A., & Mulia, R. A. (2023). Community Participation in Tourism Development at the Macaronis Tourism Attraction, Silabu Beach, Mentawai Islands. Adabi: Journal of Public Administration and Business, 10(1), 12–23.
Schneider, C., & Vasquez, L. (2014). Small is beautiful? Participación ciudadana y descentralización: los casos de Bogotá y Buenos Aires. Debates Latinoamericano,. 2 (25), 63–85.
Scott, Z., & Alam, M. (2011). Resource guide on decentralisation and local government (Issue 3). Commonwealth Secretariat.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Sotelo, G. (2017). La descentralización como factor explicativo de la ampliación y estabilización de los mecanismos de participación ciudadana: Estudio de caso del presupuesto participativo en el distrito de San Juan de Lurigancho, Perú (2004-2010). Revista Estudios de Políticas Públicas, 3(2), 131–139.
Stern, P. C., & Dietz, T. (2008). Public participation in environmental assessment and decision making. National Academies Press.
Stoa, R. (2014). Subsidiarity in principle: Decentralization of water resources management. Utrecht Law Review, 31–45.
Stokes, R. (2012). Defining the ideology of public participation:’Democracy’,’devolution’,’deliberation’,’dispute resolution’and a new system for identifying public participation in planning law. Macquarie Journal of International and Comparative Environmental Law, 8(2), 1–20.
Sullivan, L. (2019). Conservation in context: toward a systems framing of decentralized governance and public participation in wildlife management. Review of Policy Research, 36(2), 242–261.
Surie, M. D. (2010). International Experiences with Decentralisation.
Tawakkal, G. T. I. (2023). Weakening Participation in A Chain Reaction: Facts on Two Interrelated Decentralization-based Programs. Journal of Governance, 8(1), 43–60.
Tolo, E. Y. S. (2013). Public participation in the implementation of forestry decentralization in Indonesia. Bisnis & Birokrasi, 20(2), 113–120.
Turner, J. P., Currie, J., Trimble, J., & Tannenbaum, C. (2018). Strategies to promote public engagement around deprescribing. Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, 9(11), 653–665.
Umarov, B. (2023). THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPLES OF DECENTRALIZATION IN THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology, 5(02), 62–68.
Urika, U. (2022). Decentralization, Budget Participation and Managerial Work Achievements. Majalah Ilmiah Bijak, 19(2), 322–326.
Whitford, A. B., Yates, J., & Ochs, H. L. (2006). Ideological extremism and public participation. Social Science Quarterly, 87(1), 36–54.
Williamson, K., & Johanson, G. (2017). Research methods: Information, systems, and contexts. Chandos Publishing.
Young, I. M. (2002). Inclusion and democracy. Oxford University Press, USA.
In order to be accepted and published by Adabi : Journal Of Public Administration And Business author(s) submitting the article manuscript should complete all the review stages. By submitting the manuscript the author(s) agreed to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. (See The Effect of Open Acces)
Similar Articles
- Berian Hariadi, Susiyanti Meilina, Management of Land and Building Acquisition Taxes to Increase Regional Original Income , Adabi : Journal of Public Administration and Business: Vol. 12 No. 1 (2025): June 2025
- Meslidar Mesra, Berian Hariadi, Improving Service Quality Through the Performance of State Civil Apparatus in Sangir Batanghari District , Adabi : Journal of Public Administration and Business: Vol. 10 No. 2 (2023): December 2023
- Dodi Arnan, Rianda Prima Putri, Roselina Ahmad Saufi, Implementation of Regional Regulation Number 7 of 2018 concerning Guidelines for Management of Regional Property , Adabi : Journal of Public Administration and Business: Vol. 10 No. 2 (2023): December 2023
- Reviandi Reviandi, Berian Hariadi, Rizki Afri Mulia, Susiyanti Meilina, Rianda Prima Putri, Implementation of the Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture Regulation Number 1 of 2021 Regarding the Admission of New Students , Adabi : Journal of Public Administration and Business: Vol. 11 No. 2 (2024): December 2024
- Annisa Fitri, Indah Pertiwi, Rizki Afri Mulia, Implementation Of The 2024 Women's Economic Empowerment Program in West Sumatra Province , Adabi : Journal of Public Administration and Business: Vol. 12 No. 1 (2025): June 2025
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Fifi Febriandiela, Aldri Frinaldi, Lince Magriasti, Critical Analysis of Decentralization Theory in the Context of Local Government: A Literature Review , Adabi : Journal of Public Administration and Business: Vol. 11 No. 1 (2024): June 2024
- Ridwan Kurnia Rahim, Aldri Frinaldi, Lince Magriasti, Decentralization and Local Community Welfare: Analysis Based on Literature Studies , Adabi : Journal of Public Administration and Business: Vol. 11 No. 1 (2024): June 2024
- Aurelia Valentin Edward, Aldri Frinaldi, Implementation of Propemperda Policy in the Bukittinggi City DPRD Environment , Adabi : Journal of Public Administration and Business: Vol. 10 No. 2 (2023): December 2023








