BEHIND THE CONTRACT: Power Relations Behind Strategic Projects
BEHIND THE CONTRACT: Power Relations Behind Strategic Projects Core thesis: A series of cases uncovered by Indonesian law enforcement in 2026 reveals that corruption patterns in strategic projects are shifting from "individual bribery" to structural arrangements. Decision-makers no longer receive money directly. Instead, they control the procurement process through trusted aides, family members, or intermediaries—directing contracts to specific companies. More disturbingly, these cases display a strikingly similar pattern: a person with power, through an informally appointed "intermediary," issues an "instruction" without written record to multiple agencies—and the project flows to a company connected to the center of power, beneath the shell of procedural compliance. --- HOOK The night of 3 March 2026, Pekalongan Regency, Central Java. A KPK sting operation arrested Regent Fadia Arafiq along with her aides and trusted associates. Several agencies within ...