Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy

This issue has been available online since 27th October 2026 as part of the regular October 2026 edition. It features six articles by twenty-one scholars from Indonesia and Pakistan, examining post-disaster tourism resilience, collaborative protection governance, smart-city governance, Sister City Relationships, digital participation, and Indigenous rights in climate governance. Together, the articles explore how institutional capacity, collaboration, participation, asymmetry, and resilience shape governance outcomes across the Global South and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The opening article examines post-disaster tourism resilience in North Lombok, Indonesia. It finds that recovery depends not only on physical reconstruction but also on the quality of governance networks linking government, communities, businesses, NGOs, and universities. The Regional Development Planning Agency and Tourism Office emerge as key brokers, although community influence remains uneven. The study contributes especially to SDGs 8, 11, 13, 16, and 17 through sustainable tourism, disaster resilience, inclusive institutions, and partnerships.

The second article analyses collaborative governance in addressing violence against women and children in Sintang Regency. Although inter-institutional collaboration is functioning, its effectiveness is constrained by shortages of psychologists and social workers, limited infrastructure, weak outreach, and geographical barriers. The study shows that procedural coordination alone is insufficient without stronger frontline capacity. It contributes directly to SDG 5, Target 5.2, and SDG 16, Targets 16.1 and 16.2.

The third contribution compares Jakarta Smart City and Jogja Smart Service as two models of sustainable smart governance. Jakarta relies more heavily on big data, the Internet of Things, and data-driven decision-making, while Yogyakarta places greater emphasis on accessibility and citizen-centred services. The article argues that effective smart governance requires technology to be aligned with institutional capacity, transparency, accountability, and participation. It advances SDGs 9, 11, and 16.

The fourth article examines actor asymmetries in Medan’s Sister City Relationships with Milwaukee, Gwangju, Penang, and Ichikawa. It finds that asymmetry can hinder cooperation when hierarchical relations restrict local action or marginalise non-state actors, but can also support knowledge transfer and capacity building when partner-city differences are complementary. The study contributes to SDG 11, Target 11.3, and SDG 17, Targets 17.16 and 17.17.

The fifth article investigates service quality, public trust, user satisfaction, and digital participation in Kendari. It identifies a clear service-participation gap: users evaluate digital services relatively positively, but active feedback and participation remain weaker. Public trust shows the strongest independent association with participation. The study links these findings to SDG 17, Targets 17.16 and 17.17, while emphasising that digital participation alone does not constitute direct evidence of multi-stakeholder partnership achievement.

The final article examines Indigenous rights in climate governance across Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. It shows that formal rights recognition remains insufficient when Indigenous peoples are excluded from decision-making or when territorial rights are weakly protected. At the same time, legal mobilisation, territorial autonomy, and community-led initiatives demonstrate alternative pathways for climate justice. The study contributes particularly to SDGs 10, 13, 15, and 16, with additional relevance to SDG 3 and SDG 1.

Taken together, these articles show that effective governance depends on more than formal institutions, policies, and technologies. Across tourism, social protection, smart cities, paradiplomacy, digital government, and climate justice, sustainable outcomes depend on institutional capacity, meaningful participation, trust, collaboration, and the management of unequal power relations. The issue therefore highlights a common lesson for the Global South: governance becomes more resilient and legitimate when institutions are adaptive, inclusive, accountable, and responsive.