Abstract
Under the new decentralization policy, local governments in Indonesia tend to be inward-looking in orientation. Many local governments have exploited the local resources even more intensively, and they are not concerned with the socio-economic conditions of the larger region of which they are part. Within the context of metropolitan areas, there has been almost no effective cooperation among the bordering districts and municipalities to promote the metropolitan development. Against this backdrop, the study examines and compares the institutional partnership and governance in two Indonesia's metropolitan areas, namely Kartamantul (Greater Yogyakarta) and Jabodetabek (Greater Jakarta).
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Professor Ronan Paddison, the editor of this journal, and two anonymous international referees for their constructive comments on an earlier draft of this article. He would also like to thank Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation for facilitating him to complete this study as a visiting research fellow at the Center in Fall 2014. However, he alone is responsible for any mistakes and shortcomings.