Greenation International Journal of Law and Social Sciences
Vol. 4 No. 2 (2026): (GIJLSS) Greenation International Journal of Law and Social Sciences (May - Jun

Power Contestation and Shadow Institutionalization: Explaning Healthy City Policy Sustainability in Indonesia

Yuni Purwani (Universitas Diponegoro, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia.)
Teguh Yuwono (Universitas Diponegoro, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia.)
Fitriyah Fitriyah (Universitas Diponegoro, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia.)
Nunik Retno Herawati (Universitas Diponegoro, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia.)
Hermawan Budiyanto (Universitas 17 Agustus 1945, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia.)



Article Info

Publish Date
27 Jun 2026

Abstract

The Healthy City (Kabupaten/Kota Sehat, KKS) programme in Indonesia presents a theoretically unresolved paradox: 39.5% of high-achieving districts experience programme discontinuity even under same-party leadership with the programme formally embedded in regional planning documents. This article proposes a novel analytical framework by integrating multidimensional power contestation theory (Lukes, 2005; Foucault, 1980) with gradual institutional change theory (Mahoney & Thelen, 2010), drawing illustratively on Semarang City a consecutive Wistara award recipient that failed national verification in 2023 under the same party leadership. Two conceptual contributions are advanced. First, the concept of shallow institutionalisation distinguishes programme formalisation (administrative compliance) from programme internalisation (genuine cultural change and community ownership). Second, a KKS sustainability model identifies three hierarchically ordered conditions: formalisation as necessary, internalisation as sufficient, and autonomous collaborative networks as protective. The article argues that conventional policy sustainability theory neglects intra-party elite circulation as a more deterministic explanatory variable than party affiliation per se. The framework contributes to institutionalism and governance literatures and carries practical implications for redesigning collaborative health programmes in decentralised governance contexts.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

GIJLSS

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

Greenation International Journal of Law and Social Sciences (GIJLSS) is a journal that uses a blind peer-review model that can be accessed online. GIJLSS aims to publish a journal containing quality articles that will be able to contribute thoughts from theoretical and empirical perspectives for the ...