Daily Patronage Politics: A Village Chief’s Route to Power

Devy Dhian Cahyati; Yonatan Hans Luter Lopo

doi:10.22146/pcd.51737

Daily Patronage Politics: A Village Chief’s Route to Power

https://doi.org/10.22146/pcd.51737

Devy Dhian Cahyati^(1*), Yonatan Hans Luter Lopo⁽²⁾

(1) Universitas Gadjah Mada
(2) Universitas Gadjah Mada
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

This article discusses the politics of patronage used by incumbents in contesting village chief elections. Through observations and interviews conducted before and after the 2018 village chief elections in Klangor Village, Galur District, Kulon Progo Regency, the researchers explored the strategies used by the incumbent to contest the election and seek re-election. At the village level, the politics of patronage function differently than at higher levels of government. The authors argue that incumbents do not only create patronage networks during elections, during which voters are provide money or other gifts; they create patronage networks during their everyday activities. Using the economic resources available to them, incumbents combine three approaches to patronage: benevolence politics, scare-off tactics, and money politics. In this article, the authors argue that the incumbent redefined money, transforming it from a means of conducting transactions into a means of appreciating and rewarding voters. By using this strategy, incumbents can guarantee supporters’ loyalty and receive their votes.

Keywords

patronage, village chief elections, gifts, vote buying, economic base, benevolence politics

Full Text:

PDF

References

Andhika, L. R. (2017). Bahaya patronase dan klientelisme dalam pemilihan kepala desa serentak. Kajian 22(3), 205–219.

Aspinall, E., & As’ad, M. U. (2015). The patronage patchwork: Village brokerage networks and the power of the state in an Indonesian election. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 171(2/3), 165–195.

Aspinall, E., & Sukmajati, M. (2015). Politik uang di Indonesia; Patronase dan klientelisme pada Pemilu Legislatif 2014. Yogyakarta: PolGov.

Berenschot, W. (2018). The political economy of clientelism: A comparative study of Indonesia’s patronage democracy. Comparative Political Studies 51(12), 1-31.

Buve, R. (1992). Political patronage and politics at the village level in Central Mexico: Continuity and change in patterns from the late colonial period to the end of the French intervention (1867). Bulletin of Latin American Research 11(1), 1–28.

Cox, G.W. & Katz, J.N. (1996). Why did the incumbency advantage in U.S. house elections grow? American Journal of Political Science, 40(2), 478–497.

Eisenstadt, S. & Roniger, L .(1984) Patrons, clients and friends: Interpersonal relations and the structure of trust in society. Cambridge University Press.

Endraswara, S. (2013). Falsafah kepemimpinan Jawa: Butir-butir nilai yang membangun karakter seorang pemimpin menurut budaya Jawa. Yogyakarta: NARASI.

Fikri, H. (2017). The practice of political patronage and clientelism of the Democrat Party in the 2014 legislative election in Ponorogo Regency. Journal of Government & Politics, 8(4), 467–492.

Gallego, J., Li, C., & Wantchekon, L. (2018). The political economy of patrons, brokers, and voters. Serie Documentos De Trabajo, 219, 1–23.

Grzymala-Busse, A. (2008). Beyond clientelism: Incumbent state capture and state formation. Comparative political studies, 41(4–5), 638–673. doi:10.1177/0010414007313118

Hanif, H. (2009). Politik klientelisme baru dan dilema demokratisasi di Indonesia. Jurnal Sosial & Politik, 12(3), 348–349.

Hopkin, J. (2006). Conceptualizing political clientelism: Political exchange and democratic theory. Paper prepared for APSA annual meeting, Philadelphia, 31 August – 3 September 2006.

Khusni, D. A., Sardini, N. H., & Kushandayani (2018). Politik uang dan patronase dalam pemilihan kepala desa (Pilkades) Cangakan Kecamatan Kasreman Kabupaten Ngawi Provinsi Jawa Timur Tahun 2013. Journal of Politics and Government Studies, 7(1), 181-190

Klinken, G. v. (2009). Patronage democracy in provincial Indonesia. In O. Tornquist, N. Webster, & K. Stokke (eds.), Rethinking popular representation (pp. 141–159). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Latief, H. (2013a). Islam and humanitarian affairs: The middle class and new patterns of social activism. In K. v. Dijk & J. Burhanuddin (eds.), Islam in Indonesia: Contrasting images and interpretations (pp.173-194). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

Latief, H. (2013b). The politics of benevolence: Political patronage of party-based charitable organizations in contemporary Indonesian Islam. Al-Jami’ah, 51(2), 337–363

Lindberg, S.I (2003). ‘It’s our time to “chop”’: Do elections in Africa feed neo-patrimonialism rather than counter-act it? Democratization, 10(2), 121-140.

Mason, T. D. (1986). Land reform and the breakdown of clientelist politics in El Salvador. Comparative Political Studies, 18(4), 487–516.

Pappas, T. S. (2009). Patrons against partisans: The politics of patronage in mass ideological parties. Party Politics, 15(3), 315–334

Piattoni, S. (2001). Clientelism, interests, and democratic representation: the European experience in historical and comparative perspective. Cambridge University Press.

Prijono M., Yumiko, & Tjiptoherijanto. (1983). Demokrasi di pedesaan Jawa. Jakarta: Sinar Harapan.

Ramli, M. (2016) Patronase politik dalam demokrasi lokal (Analisis terhadap terpilihnya Hj. Marniwati pada Pemilukades di Desa Jojjolo Kecamatan Bulukumpa Kabupaten Bulukumba). Unpublished undergraduate thesis, Makassar State Islamic University.

Shin, J. H. (2015). Voter demands for patronage: Evidence from Indonesia. Journal of East Asian Studies, 15 (1), 127–151.

Simandjuntak, D. (2015). Persistent patronage: Explaining the popularity of former corruption convicts as candidates in Indonesia’s regional elections. Perspective, 55, 1–10.

Tomsa, D., & Ufen, A. (2013). Party politics in Southeast Asia: Clientelism and electoral competition in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. New York: Routledge.

Weingrod, A. (1968). Patrons, patronage, and political parties. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 10(4), 377–400.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/pcd.51737