Institutional Structure and Public Participation in IKN Governance

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between the institutional structure of the new National Capital City (Ibu Kota Negara) and public participation in governance, focusing on the legal frameworks outlined in Law Number 3 of 2022, Law Number 23 of 2014, and Law Number 25 of 2004. Through a comparative approach, this study assesses how centralized institutional design, operated by the National Capital City Authority, affects the opportunities and limitations of citizen participation in the planning and decision-making process. The findings show that while regulations provide a normative basis for participatory governance, the effectiveness of their implementation is strongly influenced by bureaucratic capacity, cross-agency synchronization, information disclosure, and public access to consultation mechanisms. Challenges such as overlapping authority, inequality of digital access, and weak accountability mechanisms have the potential to reduce the quality of participation. The urgency of handling these challenges is closely related to the need to ensure the legitimacy of National Capital City development and maintain the consistency of democratic governance principles. This research emphasizes that the success of National Capital City governance is not only determined by the power of regulation, but also by institutional commitment to ensuring inclusive and meaningful public participation