The World Bank’s socio-institutional neoliberalism: A case study from Indonesia. Paper presented at

This paper demonstrates an early application of an analytical framework that assists us in understanding the new development agenda or the post-Washington consensus (PWC) in action.2 Primarily, the framework centres around an analysis of the structures and ideology promoted in the new development agenda, the way in which these are promoted, and how this plays out on the ground. The framework is used here to analyse the World Bank’s Kecamatan Development Program (KDP) in Indonesia – a massive infrastructure/governance project. The application of this framework reveals that the KDP, despite some appearances to the contrary (covered below), is actually an entirely consistent element within the broader PWC project. The PWC project is highly political, and manifests in different forms (of which the KDP is but one form), with differing degrees of success in meeting reform objectives. In essence, the PWC in action (the broader project) is seen here as the promotion of a new form of neoliberalism – what I call socio-institutional neoliberalism (SIN). This concept plays a crucial role within my broader framework of analysis. What is unique about SIN, in comparison to earlier forms o