Policy capacity, local autonomy, and human agency: tensions in the intergovernmental coordination in Indonesia’s social welfare response amid the COVID-19 pandemic

The challenges of COVID-19 have particularly invited closer attention to localised impacts and the extent that intergovernmental coordination, policy capacity, and local autonomy are implicated in the effectiveness of government responses to the pandemic. Drawing on our case study of the implementation of social safety nets in Jakarta, we explore the tensions between national-local government arising from decentralisation unfold as disjunctures between mode of governance and institutional capacity. We argue that the human factor, individuals negotiating and navigating complex and problematic systems and processes, points to human agency being central for success in the implementation, execution, and delivery of services.