In decentralization we trust: 24 years of research on decentralization governance and the future of the research agenda

The degree of decentralization in the administration of state government experiences dynamics related to intergovernmental relations (Shah et al., 1994). This study examines decentralization policy trends in Indonesia during the twenty-four years of government. Specifically, this research aims to 1) document the size and growth of the literature on the topic; 2) identify key authors, journals, and documents; 3) categorize the countries with the highest productivity rates; 4) highlight emerging topics and their relationship to the conceptual structure of each domain; and 5) address future research relating to each domain. A total of 64 scientific articles from the 1999–2023 period were obtained from the Scopus database and analyzed using R-Program, VOSviewer, and content analysis. The results show that there is a connection between the concepts of decentralization, regional government, and democracy in the decentralization policy in Indonesia specifically in environmental and multi-level governance issues. Indonesia, Australia, the Netherlands, Thailand, and Japan are the countries producing the greatest number of scientific articles. This review provides valuable insights for academics and government practitioners to expand their knowledge regarding decentralization policies in Indonesia in the form of collaborative decentralization policies in managing functions that have a direct impact on society.