Battle for Control over Welfare: Cases of the Politicization of Democracy at the Local Level

Battle for Control over Welfare: Cases of the Politicization of Democracy at the Local Level —Paskarina, Asiah, & Madung

Paskarina, C., Asiah, M., & Madung, O. G. (2015). Battle for Control over Welfare: Cases of the Politicization of Democracy at the Local Level. Yogyakarta: Politics & Government in collaboration with PCD Press.

Democracy and welfare are, without question, necessities. But the road to arrive at a connection between the two is long and winding. Welfare management is a political process defined by the construction of power relations. Therefore, democratisation should also be sensitive to the structures and practices of power that determine the distribution of welfare. In cases in which elites have employed populism, patronage and primordialism as strategies to determine who is entitled to access resources, the public must demand representation and control to balance power relations. This book engages readers with an analysis of democratisation and contestations of democracy in Indonesia. It observes the possible and necessary contextual practices within all political corners that transform welfare into a political issue. The book’s contributors not only present represent pro-democracy segment; they also share their experiences and skills to accelerate movement towards democracy. This book is a compilation of narrations outlining the struggle of pro-democracy actors to politicise democracy. It presents their variant strategies to direct democratisation toward welfare. Fifteen cases from several regions in Indonesia demonstrate that democracy welfare cannot materialise without public control over welfare management.