Transformation of Civil Servant Loyalty Post-Regional Election: From Personal-Political Monoloyalty to Professional-Institutional Multiloyalty in Jayapura City
The transition of local political leadership after an election may reshape power relations, career security, and civil servants' loyalty orientations. This study examines post-election civil-service loyalty and identifies institutional mechanisms that can shift personal-political monoloyalty toward professional-institutional multiloyalty in Jayapura City. A qualitative case-study design was employed. The primary data came from in-depth interviews with eight informants at different levels of the local bureaucracy and were analyzed through thematic coding and cross-informant comparison. The findings reveal a stable-adaptive bureaucracy: public services continued, while rotation, promotion, and acting appointments became sites of career uncertainty. Civil-service loyalty was layered and situated on a continuum encompassing personal, official, institutional, professional, legal, and public-service commitments. Procedural uncertainty, perceived political intervention, organizational culture, superior-subordinate relations, and career security may strengthen personal loyalty. By contrast, a transparent and credible merit system shifts civil servants' dependence from political figures to competence, performance, and institutional procedures. The study argues that merit operates not only as a personnel-management instrument but also as a mechanism for depersonalizing loyalty. Such transformation requires six mutually reinforcing pillars: auditable merit, career protection, continuous ethics and neutrality development, transitional leadership, competence and welfare development, and public-service accountability.
Keywords: ASN loyalty, Merit system, Bureaucratic neutrality, Regional elections, Bureaucratic politics.
Badan Kepegawaian Negara. (2024). Hasil pengawasan penerapan sistem merit tahun 2024. Jakarta: BKN.
Berenschot, W. (2018). The political economy of clientelism: A comparative study of Indonesia's patronage democracy. Comparative Political Studies, 51(12), 1563–1593. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414018758756
Blunt, P., Turner, M., & Lindroth, H. (2012). Patronage's progress in post-Soeharto Indonesia. Public Administration and Development, 32(1), 64–81. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.617
Bryson, J. M., & Bert, G. (2024). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (6th ed.). Wiley.
Chandler, A. D. (1969). Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of the American industrial enterprise. MIT Press.
Cho, Y. J., & Sai, N. (2013). Does organizational justice matter in the federal workplace? Review of Public Personnel Administration, 33(3), 227–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X12458126
Christensen, T. (1991). Bureaucratic roles: Political loyalty and professional autonomy. Scandinavian Political Studies, 14(4), 303–320. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.1991.tb00121.x
Dahlström, C., Lapuente, V., & Teorell, J. (2012). The merit of meritocratization: Politics, bureaucracy, and the institutional deterrents to corruption. Political Research Quarterly, 65(3), 656–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912911408109
Indiahono, D., Satyawan, D. S., & Yamin, M. (2022). Understanding Sowan as a New Paternalistic Bureaucracy Pattern of Local Officials in Indonesia. Jurnal Bina Praja, 14(2), 201–211. https://doi.org/10.21787/jbp.14.2022.201-211
Johnston, M. (1979). Patrons and clients, jobs and machines: A case study of the uses of patronage. American Political Science Review, 73(2), 385–398. https://doi.org/10.2307/1954886
Kristiansen, S., & Ramli, M. (2006). Buying an income: The market for civil service positions in Indonesia. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 28(2), 207–233. https://doi.org/10.1355/cs28-2b
Lubis, M. T. S. (2022). Penegakan Hukum Pidana Terhadap Pelaku Kampanye Hitam (Black Campaign) Di Media Sosial (Analisis Undang-Undang Pemilu Kepala Daerah Dan Undang-Undang Informasi Dan Transaksi Elektronik) [Criminal Law Enforcement Against Black Campaigners on Social Media (Analysis of the Regional Head Election Law and the Electronic Information and Transactions Law)]. Riau Law Journal, 6(2), 170–197. https://doi.org/10.30652/rlj.v6i2.7967
Maisarah, & Buana, M. S. (2025). Dilema Sistem Merit sebagai Instrumen Pencegahan Korupsi, Kolusi, dan Nepotisme dalam Pengisian Jabatan di Pemerintahan Daerah [The Dilemma of the Merit System as an Instrument for Preventing Corruption, Collusion, and Nepotism in Filling Positions in Regional Government]. Jurnal Kolaboratif Sains, 8(5), 2390–2396. https://jurnal.unismuhpalu.ac.id/index.php/JKS/article/view/7539/5363
Mattayang, B. (2019). Tipe dan gaya kepemimpinan: suatu tinjauan teoritis. JEMMA (Journal of Economic, Management and Accounting), 2(2), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.35914/jemma.v2i2.247
Maysura, N. A. (2025). Peran Sistem Merit dalam Reformasi Birokrasi di Indonesia: Tantangan dan Solusi dalam Perspektif Hukum Administrasi Negara [The Role of the Merit System in Bureaucratic Reform in Indonesia: Challenges and Solutions from the Perspective of State Administrative Law]. Mendapo: Journal of Administrative Law, 6(1), 85–105. https://doi.org/10.22437/mendapo.v6i1.40185
McCourt, W. (2013). Models of public service reform: A problem-solving approach (Policy Research Working Paper No. 6428). World Bank. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2258956
Meyer-Sahling, J. H., & Mikkelsen, K. S. (2016). Civil service laws, merit, politicization, and corruption: The perspective of public officials from five East European countries. Public Administration, 94(4), 1105–1123. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12276
Mintzberg, H. (1987). The strategy concept I: Five Ps for strategy. California Management Review, 30(1), 11–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/41165263
Muksalmina, Yustisi, N., & Tasyukur. (2024). Netralitas Bagi Aparatur Sipil Negara dalam Penyelenggaraan Pemilihan Kepala Daerah [Neutrality for State Civil Apparatus in the Implementation of Regional Head Elections]. Jurisprudensi: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum. https://doi.org/10.70193/jurisprudensi.v1i02.09
Muttaqin, M. Z., Idris, U., & Ilham, I. (2021). Tantangan Implementasi Netralitas PNS (Kajian Kekerasan Simbolik dalam Pilkada) [Challenges in Implementing Civil Servant Neutrality (A Study of Symbolic Violence in Regional Elections)]. JWP (Jurnal Wacana Politik), 6(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v6i1.32065
Peters, B. G. (2018). The politics of bureaucracy: An introduction to comparative public administration. Routledge.
Rakhmawanto, A. (2020). Analisis politisasi birokrasi dalam pembinaan aparatur sipil negara [Analysis of the politicization of bureaucracy in the development of state civil servants]. Jurnal Kebijakan dan Manajemen PNS, 14(2), 1–11. https://jurnal.bkn.go.id/index.php/asn/article/view/284
Redman, T., & Snape, E. (2005). Unpacking commitment: Multiple loyalties and employee behaviour. Journal of Management Studies, 42(2), 301–328. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00498.x
Rubin, E. V. (2009). The role of procedural justice in public personnel management: Empirical results from the Department of Defense. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19(1), 125–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum035
Sadikin, A. (2025). Strategi Pengembangan Komitmen Profesi ASN dalam Mendukung SMART ASN di PPSDM Kemendikdasmen [Strategy for Developing ASN Professional Commitment in Supporting SMART ASN in PPSDM Kemendikbudsmen]. Jurnal Widyaiswara Indonesia, 6(01), 1–13. https://ejournal.iwi.or.id/ojs/index.php/iwi/article/view/359
Suryanto, A. S. M. P., Firdaus, V., & Abadiyah, R. (2024). Pengaruh Kepemimpinan Transformasional, Komunikasi, dan Penggunaan Teknologi terhadap Kinerja Bumdes yang ada pada Kecamatan Tanggulangin [The Influence of Transformational Leadership, Communication, and Use of Technology on the Performance of Village-Owned Enterprises in Tanggulangin District]. Management Studies and Entrepreneurship Journal (MSEJ), 5(1), 1150–1165. https://journal.yrpipku.com/index.php/msej/article/view/4229
Turner, M., Prasojo, E., & Sumarwono, R. (2022). The challenge of reforming big bureaucracy in Indonesia. Policy Studies, 43(2), 333–351. https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2019.1708301
Wilson, W. (1887). The study of administration. Political Science Quarterly, 2(2), 197–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/2139277
Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 20 Tahun 2023 tentang Aparatur Sipil Negara.
Peraturan Komisi Pemilihan Umum Nomor 2 Tahun 2024 tentang Tahapan dan Jadwal Pemilihan Kepala Daerah.
Peraturan Pemerintah (PP) Nomor 17 Tahun 2020 tentang Perubahan atas Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 11 Tahun 2017 tentang Manajemen Pegawai Negeri Sipil
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The copyright is reserved to Bulletin of Social Studies and Community Development that is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Address:
CV. IMRECS: Jalan Gagak I, Kecamatan Larangan, Kota Tangerang. Postal Code: 15155