Relocating Indonesia's Capital City - The Struggle for Power and Resources in Borneo

This book looks at the process of relocating Indonesia's capital from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan. It looks critically at the surrounding conflict and its causes, as well as the solution from the perspective of evidence-based-policy and regulatory impacts assessments whose presence is increasingly needed today, to campaign for participatory policies and achieve the right targets. It is not widely known that the process of relocation of the capital took place behind closed doors and unilaterally. Through a closed legislative process, without public debate, and by amending the constitution later, this takeover process took place without resistance from disadvantaged regions. Following this, when the central government faced financing difficulties along the way, its development budget initially relied on foreign investment, then became dependent on domestic financing, both sourced from state finances (APBN) and local resources. From here, the book maps the subsequent problems that arose, the first of which relates to local resources. It shows how local residents are also affected with land evictions without proper relocation. Through political-economic research and analysis, the book dissects the conflict as it appears in central-regional power relations, by exploring the roots of the problem and recommending several solutions, as well as looking at possible future development of the conflict.  This timely book is helpful to those who carry out development studies and are involved in making public policy for campus, government, parliament and the business world.

List of contents

Chapter 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2 Indonesia s Capital Relocation and The Shaky Regulatory Framework.- Chapter 3 Financing Nusantara: Between Vision and Reality.

About the author

Poltak Partogi Nainggolan is Research Professor of BRIN Domestic Governance, focusing his research on power relationship, political economy, democracy, governance and conflict. He was Head of the Research Centre at the Indonesian House of Representatives from 2010 to 2015. He completed his post-graduate studies at the University of Birmingham, UK, with Chevening Scholarship from the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1999 and doctoral studies at Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg, Germany, in 2011 with a scholarship from Hanns Seidel Stiftung, writing dissertation on “The Indonesian Military Response to Reform Under Three Civilian Regimes 1999-2004.” He was Visiting Scholar at the Arnold-Bergstraesser Institute (ABI), Germany, in 2004 and participated in an internship program in Landtag Thueringen, Germany, in 1993.

Riris Katharina is Senior Researcher of BRIN Domestic Governance, focusing her research on state bureaucracy, autonomy, decentralization, and parliament. She pursued her first degree from Faculty of Administration of the University of Diponegoro in 1996. She did her post-graduate studies at the Department of Administration of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Indonesia and finished it in 2004. Her doctoral studies at the Faculty of Administration of University of Indonesia was completed in 2017, with dissertation on “Measuring the Success of Papua Special Autonomy.” She spent most of her career in legislation, drafting laws at the Indonesian House of Representatives from 1997 to 2022. She was also Lecturer at the Faculty of Administration of University of Indonesia during 2022-2023 and the Centre for Law and Policy Studies (PSHK) until now.
Pihri Buhaerah is a researcher at BRIN, specializing in macroeconomics and development economics, and serves as the Manager of the Socio-Economic Data Center under the Governance, Economic, and Community Welfare Research Organization. Before joining the Economic Research Center of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences/P2E-LIPI), he worked at the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), where his research focused on economic and social rights and human rights-based approaches to development. In addition to his research roles, Pihri has held academic positions as a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Padjadjaran University (Bandung); Persada Indonesia University (UPI YAI, Jakarta); and Azzahra Islamic University (Jakarta) from 2013 to 2015. He remains a Research Associate at The Indonesian Institute (TII). He holds a Master’s degree in International Development Economics (2012) from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University.  In addition to his academic work, he actively contributes policy-oriented articles to leading Indonesian media outlets.

Aninda Wisaksanti Rudiastuti is a researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia, with a focus on the conservation of marine and inland water resources. She specializes in the application of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for monitoring coastal habitats, ecosystems, and river basin environments. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Science (2008) and a Master’s degree in Marine Technology (2011), both from Bogor Agricultural University (IPB). She began her research career in 2016 at the Geospatial Information Agency and has since been involved in various national-scale projects related to coastal monitoring, spatial planning, and ecosystem conservation through geospatial technologies.

Tini Apriani is Researcher of BRIN Domestic Governance Research Centre, focusing on regional autonomy and decentralization since 2021. She had long experience as a researcher at the Ministry of Home Affairs from 2008 to 2020. She finished her undergraduate program in 2003 at the Department of Social Sciences of University of Gadjah Mada. Her Master studies has been completed at the STIA LAN Polytechnic Jakarta, majoring in State Development Administration, completed in 2021.

Summary

This book looks at the process of relocating Indonesia's capital from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan. It looks critically at the surrounding conflict and its causes, as well as the solution from the perspective of evidence-based-policy and regulatory impacts assessments whose presence is increasingly needed today, to campaign for participatory policies and achieve the right targets. It is not widely known that the process of relocation of the capital took place behind closed doors and unilaterally. Through a closed legislative process, without public debate, and by amending the constitution later, this takeover process took place without resistance from disadvantaged regions. Following this, when the central government faced financing difficulties along the way, its development budget initially relied on foreign investment, then became dependent on domestic financing, both sourced from state finances (APBN) and local resources. From here, the book maps the subsequent problems that arose, the first of which relates to local resources. It shows how local residents are also affected with land evictions without proper relocation. Through political-economic research and analysis, the book dissects the conflict as it appears in central-regional power relations, by exploring the roots of the problem and recommending several solutions, as well as looking at possible future development of the conflict.  This timely book is helpful to those who carry out development studies and are involved in making public policy for campus, government, parliament and the business world.

Product details

• Authors: Tini Apriani, Buhaer, Pihri Buhaerah, Riris Katharina, Poltak Partogi Nainggolan, Aninda Wisaksanti Rudiastuti
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 23.10.2025, delayed
• EAN: 9789819522774
• ISBN: 978-981-9522-77-4
• No. of pages: 165
• Illustrations: XXIII, 165 p. 16 illus., 14 illus. in color.
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Urban and regional sociology; Öffentliche Verwaltung, Borneo, Power, Städte, Stadtgemeinden, Kommunal-, Regional- Landes und Lokalregierung, Wirtschaftspolitik, politische Ökonomie, Geschichte: Ereignisse und Themen, Urban History, auseinandersetzen, Resources, Public Policy, Urban Sociology, Indonesia, Relocation, Public Choice and Political Economy, Urban policy, Nusantara, Kutai Kartanegara, IKN, Penajam Paser Utara, New Capital City