From Clientelistic Governance to Embedded Autonomy: A Transformative Patron-client Approach in Pangkep Regency Development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v10i18.19546Keywords:
patron-client, embedded autonomy, clientelistic governanceAbstract
This study analyzes the opportunities for transformation of patron-client relations from clientelistic governance to embedded autonomy in the context of Pangkep Regency development. Using a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews, Musrenbang observations, and document analysis, the study identifies patron-client typologies in the maritime, mining, and island sectors and their manifestations in regional development administration. The results of the study indicate that the pattern of development project allocation and decision-making is strongly influenced by patronage networks, but has the potential to be transformed through the formalization of social networks. The institutionalization of the punggawa-sawi system in coastal management and the integration of informal figures in participatory planning create a hybrid governance structure that combines the strength of traditional relations with modern administrative principles. The developed embedded autonomy model results in increased effectiveness of policy implementation and more substantive community participation. This study contributes to the theoretical discourse on the transformation of social structures in regional development and offers a practical approach to utilizing local social capital in strengthening governance capacity without ignoring traditional wisdom.
References
[1] Peters BG. “Governance and Comparative Politics,” in Debating Governance: Authority. Steering, and Democracy; 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198295143.003.0003.
[2] Bardhan P. Clientelism and governance. World Dev. 2022;152:105797.
[3] P. B. Evans, Embedded Autonomy. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400821723.
[4] Lindberg SI, Lo Bue MC, Sen K. Clientelism, corruption and the rule of law. World Dev. 2022;158:105989.
[5] Enejoh W. Political Clientelism and the Challenges of Good Governance in Nigeria [IJDDS]. International Journal of Democratic and Development Studies. 2021;5(1).
[6] Sugiyama NB, Hunter W. Whither clientelism? Good governance and Brazil’s Bolsa Família program. Comp Polit. 2013;46(1):43–62.
[7] Isayomi AS, Omodunbi OO, Abalaba BP; A. S. ISAYOMI. O. O. Omodunbi, and B. P. ABALABA, “Income Inequality, Clientelism And Governance: Implications For Socioeconomic Development In West Africa.,” Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series. 2023;23(1): https://doi.org/10.26458/2318.
[8] Okthariza N. Democracy for Sale: Elections, Clientelism, and the State of in Indonesia. Bull Indones Econ Stud. 2020;56(1):129–30.
[9] Lo Bue MC, Sen K, Lindberg SI. “Clientelism, Public Goods Provision, and Governance,” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3882621.
[10] Berenschot W, Aspinall E. How clientelism varies: comparing patronage democracies. Democratization. 2020;27(1):1–19.
[11] Piacentini A. Clientelism and Democratic Representation in Comparative Perspective. Nationalism Ethn Polit. 2021;27(1):100–1.
[12] Mookherjee D, Nath A. Clientelistic politics and pro-poor targeting: rules versus discretionary budgets. World Dev. 2023;166:106206.
[13] Coates R, Nygren A. Urban Floods, Clientelism, and the Political Ecology of the State in Latin America. Ann Am Assoc Geogr. 2020;110(5):1301–17.
[14] Trudeau J. “How Criminal Governance Undermines Elections,” ASPA Preprints, 2022.
[15] Nath S. Managerial, clientelist or populist? Lake governance in the Indian city of Bangalore. Water Int. 2021;46(4):524–42.
[16] Jaffe R, Koster M. The Myth of Formality in the Global North: Informality-as-Innovation in Dutch Governance. Int J Urban Reg Res. 2019 May;43(3):563–8.
[17] Verkhovets S, Sahin SB. Democratisation and Social Conflict in Timor-Leste: A Not So Great Transformation. J Contemp Asia. 2024;54(1):44–60.
[18] Mello GA, Pereira AP, Uchimura LY, Iozzi FL, Demarzo MM, Viana AL. A systematic review of the process of regionalization of Brazil’s Unified Health System, SUS. Cien Saude Colet. 2017 Apr;22(4):1291–310.
[19] Lyu W, Singh N. Embedded autonomy, political institutions, and access orders. Econ Polit. 2023;35(1):286–312.
[20] Picciotto S. Technocracy in the Era of Twitter: between intergovernmentalism and supranational technocratic politics in global tax governance. Regul Gov. 2022;16(3):634–52.
[21] Busia KA, Amegah A, Arthur-Holmes F. Pathways of Electoral Clientelism in University Student Elections in Ghana: An Exploratory Study. Journal for Students Affairs in Africa. 2021;9(2):153–71.
[22] van Baalen S. Local elites, civil resistance, and the responsiveness of rebel governance in Côte d’Ivoire. J Peace Res. 2021;58(5):930–44.
[23] Croke K, Ogbuoji O. Health reform in Nigeria: the politics of primary health care and universal health coverage. Health Policy Plan. 2024 Jan;39(1):22–31.
[24] R. A. Kinseng, Class and conflict in the fishers’ community in Indonesia. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0986-5.
[25] Lyu W, Singh N. A model of embedded autonomy and asymmetric information. J Int Dev. 2023;35(8):2429–45.
[26] Clark P, Rosales A. Broadened embedded autonomy and Latin America’s Pink Tide: towards the neo-developmental state. Globalizations. 2023;20(1):20–37.
[27] P. B. Evans, “From Embedded Autonomy to Counter-Hegemonic Globalization: A 60-Year Adventure in Exploring Comparative Political Economy,” 2023. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-031021-104426.
[28] A. Styhre, “Embedded Autonomy,” in The Institutional Theory of the Firm, 2019. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429030994-1.
[29] Russell LD. Democratizing the scientific space: the constellation of new epistemic strategies around the emerging metaphor of socially embedded autonomy. Technol Soc. 2015;40:82–92.
[30] Kolzow DR, et al. Unit 5 Theories of Leadership. International Journal of Organizational Leadership. 2021;1(1).
[31] Li MD, MacDonald M, McInnes CR, Jing WX. Analytical landing trajectories for embedded autonomy. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part G J Aerosp Eng. 2010;224(11):1177–91.
[32] Fang Z, Hung H. Historicizing Embedded Autonomy. Sociol Dev (Oakl). 2019;5(2):147–73.
[33] A. Styhre, The institutional theory of the firm: embedded autonomy. 2019. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429030994.
[34] Trezzini B. Embedded state autonomy and legitimacy: piecing together the Malaysian development puzzle. Econ Soc. 2001;30(3):324–53.
[35] Kalanta M. The political economy of economic upgrading in Central Eastern Europe. New Polit Econ. 2024;29(5):661–77.
[36] P. B. Evans, “10. Rethinking Embedded Autonomy,” in Embedded Autonomy, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400821723-013.
[37] Sommer JM, Restivo M, Shandra JM. Connecting Bureaucratic Structures to Forest Loss A Cross-National Analysis of Embedded Autonomy in Low- and Middle-Income Nations. Sociol Dev (Oakl). 2023;9(3):242–62.
[38] García A. Rise and fall of regional planning in Argentina: between the quest for embedded autonomy and the economic scenario of peripheral capitalism (1965- 2015). Cuadernos de Geografia: Revista Colombiana de Geografia. 2018;27(1): https://doi.org/10.15446/rcdg.v27n1.58053.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muchlis, Muh. Akmal Ibrahim
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
