Politics and Policy

<p class="ql-align-justify">This study examines policy formation in Indonesia as a democratic country while simultaneously promoting the “four-path policy formation theory” to classify prototypes of public policy formation. In reality, the quality of policy formation is not determined by a democratic or non-democratic political system, but rather by the extent to which stakeholders, as non-state actors, bring public values to influence policy decisions. Therefore, whether a policy is good or bad depends on the ability and integrity of state actors to adopt public aspirations in policy formulation. Two cases analyzed in this article show that the public policy-making process in Indonesia still ignores the will of the people. State actors used the deviation model when formulating the policy for the development of Indonesia’s capital in Kalimantan and the intentional model when formulating the reclamation policy on the north coast of Jakarta. Policies are made solely for the political and economic interests of certain groups; democracy is not utilized as a space for public dialogue. Scientists, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), community organizations, and the media are not considered in the policy-making process.</p>