Questioning the problem representation in a poverty reduction progran East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia

Author: Gregorius Abanit Asa

Asa, Gregorius Abanit, 2016 Questioning the problem representation in a poverty reduction progran East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Flinders University, School of History and International Relations

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Abstract

This thesis questions the role of the provincial government of East Nusa Tenggara in poverty reduction programs. The province has been consistently among the poorest provinces in the country for the past several decades. Decentralisation policies introduced in the 2000s promised to give local governments more power to design, fund, and implement policies that address poverty effectively. Using Carol Bacchi’s approach to policy analysis, which asks ‘what is the problem represented to be?’, the study analyses how the province’s Anggur Merah program is constructed, and how the policy itself produces problems and fails to address others. Furthermore, as the implementation of the program is not supported through good management, the program tends to be biased towards the less poor and non-poor. This neoliberalism-based policy, focusing on economic approach as the best way to tackle poverty and thus ignoring other aspects, is considered insufficient to help local communities break out of poverty.

Keywords: Decentralisation, poverty, Anggur Merah, ENT

Subject: International Relations thesis, International Studies thesis

Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2016
School: School of History and International Relations
Supervisor: Susanne Schech