Reforming bureaucracy in Indonesia: the legal challenges of reorganisation

Abstract

This article identifies legal challenges to bureaucracy reform at the national level in Indonesia. In the world of administrative governance, nothing has become more constant than change; most governments continuously receive pressure to reform, or radically change and transform. The problems of bureaucracy are often structural. Reorganisation is therefore a logical step. The blocks of organisations are rearranged to improve symmetry, logical grouping, coordination and efficiency. However, there are legal impediments to conducting reorganisation. Due to the large structure of the Indonesian Central Government, there is significant duplication of function among ministries and agencies, in part due to entrenchment in legislation. This has led to ineffective government structures. There is also significant overlap in function between existing institutions, and newly created ones. Reorganising these institutions poses difficulties due to the process required to amend legislation related to such institutions. This article takes a qualitative approach to examining such issues. Sociological concepts are combined with legal ones, merging political sciences, public policy and management concepts with legal research in administrative law.