Consultants in the Indonesian state: Modes of influence and institutional implications

Abstract

Consulting for governments is big business globally, including in developing countries. Yet we know very little about the industry and its effects, or why governments in poor countries employ consultants. A technocratic perspective suggests that consultants are doing precisely what they claim to be doing: promoting efficiency, functional effectiveness and best practice. Critical perspectives portray consultants as intruders peddling inappropriate prescriptions, often at the behest of foreign interests.