Mengelola Perlawanan Masyarakat Adat terhadap Proyek Transisi Energi: Fragmentasi dan Konfigurasi Respons Negara di Manggarai, NTT

Martin Dennise Silaban, Bahruddin, S. Sos., M.Sc., Ph.D.

2026 | Tesis | S2 PEMBANGUNAN SOSIAL DAN KESEJAHTERAAN

Penelitian ini bertujuan menjelaskan bagaimana layered authority membentuk variasi respons negara terhadap perlawanan Masyarakat Adat Poco Leok atas proyek pengembangan PLTP Ulumbu di Kabupaten Manggarai, Nusa Tenggara Timur. Berangkat dari kritik terhadap pandangan yang memposisikan negara sebagai aktor tunggal dan homogen, penelitian ini berargumen bahwa variasi respons negara tidak semata ditentukan oleh preferensi aktor atau karakter perlawanan, melainkan oleh konfigurasi struktural antara otoritas, kapasitas, dan konteks institusional pada setiap lapisan pemerintahan.

Penelitian ini menggunakan desain studi kasus eksplanatori dengan embedded single-case design. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui observasi lapangan dan wawancara mendalam, sementara analisis dilakukan menggunakan metode explaining-outcome process tracing untuk merekonstruksi mekanisme kausal yang memproduksi variasi respons. Informan ditentukan melalui kombinasi purposive sampling dan snowball sampling, melibatkan aktor pemerintah, perusahaan pelaksana proyek, aparat keamanan, Masyarakat Adat, jurnalis/media lokal, serta organisasi masyarakat sipil. Keabsahan data dijaga melalui triangulasi sumber, member checking, dan refleksivitas peneliti.

Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa respons negara bersifat terfragmentasi dan berlapis. Pada tingkat pusat, negara cenderung menampilkan respons proaktif melalui penguncian regulasi, produksi narasi legitimasi transisi energi, dan mobilisasi kapasitas koordinatif. Sebaliknya, pada tingkat provinsi, kabupaten, kecamatan hingga desa, respons lebih bersifat reaktif akibat keterbatasan diskresi kebijakan serta meningkatnya tekanan konflik di tingkat lokal. Selain melalui instrumen formal, respons negara juga bekerja melalui praktik-praktik informal yang memperluas jangkauan pengendalian konflik. Pergeseran dari pengelolaan menuju pengendalian konflik merefleksikan konsekuensi struktural dari distribusi kewenangan dalam arsitektur layered authority.

Penelitian ini berkontribusi pada literatur tentang respons negara dan konflik pembangunan dengan mengembangkan kerangka segitiga respons negara yang mengintegrasikan otoritas, kapasitas, dan konteks institusional sebagai mekanisme penjelas variasi respons lintas sektor kebijakan.

 

This study aims to explain how layered authority shapes variations in state responses to the resistance of the Poco Leok Indigenous community against the development of the Ulumbu Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP Ulumbu) in Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Departing from critiques of perspectives that portray the state as a single and homogeneous actor, this study argues that variations in state responses are not solely determined by the preferences of individual actors or the characteristics of resistance. Rather, they are shaped by the structural configuration of authority, capacity, and institutional context across different layers of government.

This research employs an explanatory case study using an embedded single-case design. Data were collected through field observations and in-depth interviews, while the analysis applies explaining-outcome process tracing to reconstruct the causal mechanisms that produce variations in state responses. Informants were selected through a combination of purposive and snowball sampling, involving government officials, the project developer, security apparatus, members of the Indigenous community, local journalists/media, and civil society organizations. Data validity was ensured through source triangulation, member checking, and researcher reflexivity.

The findings show that state responses are fragmented and layered. At the national level, the state tends to display proactive responses through regulatory consolidation, the production of legitimacy narratives around energy transition, and the mobilization of coordinative capacities. In contrast, at the provincial, district, sub-district, and village levels, responses tend to be more reactive due to limited policy discretion and increasing conflict pressures at the local level. In addition to formal institutional instruments, state responses also operate through informal practices that extend the reach of conflict control. This shift from conflict management toward conflict control reflects the structural consequences of the distribution of authority within the architecture of layered authority.

This study contributes to the literature on state responses and development conflicts by developing the state response triangle framework, which integrates authority, capacity, and institutional context as mechanisms explaining variations in state responses across policy sectors

Kata Kunci : layered authority; segitiga respons negara; masyarakat adat; transisi energi; panas bumi