JURNAL KOLABORASI
Vol. 12 No. 2 (2026): Agustus 2026

From Digital Access to Accountable Participation: Rethinking Rural Governance in Indonesia

Ferdian Al Ghifari Ganda Hutama (State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Gunung Djati)



Article Info

Publish Date
31 Aug 2026

Abstract

Rural governance increasingly depends on digital platforms, data infrastructures, and mediated public interaction. In Indonesia, this dependence is unfolding alongside the Village Law's expansion of village autonomy and a fast-growing digital village agenda. It raises a democratic problem that remains underdeveloped in rural digitalization scholarship: digital participation does not necessarily produce accountable governance. a configurational literature synthesis of recent rural studies, Indonesian village governance research, and public administration scholarship on participation, accountability, and digital transformation identified four interdependent conditions: digital locality, institutional embeddedness, participatory capability, and accountability conversion. Digital tools can widen information access, improve service coordination, and create new channels for proposals or complaints. The same tools can intensify surveillance, administrative compliance, elite control, and data extraction when local forums lack traceability, answerability, contestability, and correction. The proposed Participatory Accountability Readiness Framework clarifies the movement from digital access to accountable influence. The article contributes theoretically by linking digital rurality with village governance regimes and contributes practically by offering diagnostic principles for Indonesia's digital village agenda. The main limitation lies in the absence of primary village-level data. Future research should test the framework through comparative case studies across villages with different political economies, digital capacities, and participatory traditions.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

kolaborasi

Publisher

Subject

Social Sciences

Description

Kolaborasi : Jurnal Administrasi Publik is an-Opened Access journal and published three times a year every April, August and December. Kolaborasi : Jurnal Administrasi Publik received articles from research findings and new scientific review articles. The aims of this journal is to publish research ...